🟡 Tour de France 2025 Stage 3 – Philipsen Seeks Redemption in Sprint Showdown

📌 Stage 2 Recap: Van der Poel Storms Into Yellow

Mathieu van der Poel showed brute force and timing in the punchy finish at Boulogne-sur-Mer. With teammate Jasper Philipsen dropped, the Dutchman took control, outkicking Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to take both the stage win and the yellow jersey.

Wet roads set the tone early, and a breakaway of Fedorov, Armirail, Leknessund, and Van Moer built a 3-minute lead before being caught. The finale lit up on the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont and Côte d’Outreau, with the GC contenders fighting for bonus seconds and positioning.

Van der Poel launched his sprint at the perfect moment to hold off Pogacar and Vingegaard, showing he's more than just a classics man.

🔢 GC after Stage 2:

1. Mathieu van der Poel (NLD)
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) + 0:04
3. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) + 0:06
4. Kévin Vauquelin (FRA) + 0:10
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) s.t.
6. Enric Mas (SPA) s.t.
7. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) + 0:31
8. Joe Blackmore (GBR) + 0:41
9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (NOR) s.t.
10. Ben O’Connor (AUS) s.t.

Other Notable Riders:
• 13. João Almeida (POR) + 0:49
• 15. Mattias Skjelmose (DEN) s.t.
• 18. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) s.t.
• 21. Primoz Roglic (SLO) s.t.
• 28. Carlos Rodriguez (SPA) + 1:20
• 125. Adam Yates (GBR) + 10:31
• 167. Lenny Martinez (FRA) + 14:24

🚴 Stage 3 Preview: Valenciennes to Dunkirk – Sprinters’ Playground

The flat 178.3-kilometre route from Valenciennes to Dunkirk offers Tour de France 2025 Stage 3 a textbook sprint finish — unless the crosswinds on the Opal Coast say otherwise.

The only categorized climb, Côte de Cassel (2.3 km at 3.8%), comes with just over 30 km to go. After that, it’s dead flat into Dunkirk, setting the stage for a sprint battle — but the exposed terrain leaves the door open for echelons.

This is a chance for Jasper Philipsen to make amends after losing yellow and being caught in Stage 2’s hills. He’ll be challenged by the usual suspects: Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan, and Dylan Groenewegen. Biniam Girmay and Wout van Aert are also expected to be in the mix.

Dunkirk last hosted a finish in 2001, but in 2022 it served as a start location. It’s time for the port city to reclaim its spot as sprint central.

Bonus seconds at the finish: 10, 6, and 4 seconds for the top 3.

🗺️ Check our full TDF preview here

🏆 Favourites – Tour de France 2025 Stage 3

★★★ Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen
★★ Dylan Groenewegen, Biniam Girmay, Wout van Aert
★ Arnaud De Lie, Arnaud Démare, Jake Stewart, Jordi Meeus