Pontivy (France) (AFP)

A massacre!

The favorites of the Tour all had problems in the 3rd stage, which won the Belgian Tim Merlier, a teammate in the yellow jersey Mathieu van der Poel, after a chaotic final and a multiplication of falls.

The sprinters were concerned as Australia's Caleb Ewan dragged down Slovakian Peter Sagan in the final 200 meters.

The riders in the general classification also, like the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, injured in his flesh and the main loser in terms of accounts of this stage with serious consequences to come.

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Roglic, who fell 10 kilometers from the finish, lost nearly a minute to last year's winner, his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, himself delayed on the winding descent to Pontivy.

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Of the main contenders for the final victory, Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz was the only one to feature in the leading group at the finish line.

He is also the only one of the Ineos team's starting quartet to have passed between the falls so far.

After the delay conceded by the Australian Richie Porte and the Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart, the Welshman Geraint Thomas added his share to the woes of the most powerful team of the peloton.

The winner of the 2018 Tour fell around 40 kilometers after leaving Lorient and was hit in the right shoulder.

According to the first diagnosis, the winner of the 2018 Tour suffers from a dislocation.

- Abandonment for Ewan -

The toll is very heavy for other candidates for honors.

In priority for Ewan, supposed to be the number one sprinter of the Tour 2021 and forced to retire due to a fractured right clavicle.

For his compatriot Jack Haig too, who came as leader of the Bahrain team.

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"It's the biggest race, everyone is nervous," recalled the yellow jersey, Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who worked for Merlier in the last two kilometers.

"The riders in the general classification find themselves facing the sprinters' teams. The last kilometers were very fast".

"Danger is watching us everywhere," added van der Poel, when asked about the choice of a fast and tortuous route to reach Pontivy, a unique stopover town.

"There were also crashes today on straight and wide roads. It's hard to find a solution."

Race director Thierry Gouvenou confirmed.

"We offered different types of course in the first stages but falls happen. But, until they find their footing, it's a struggle to win," told AFP the race director who cites the sporting issue as the main factor in this high-risk final.

- "The speed is too high" -

The runners' association had requested the neutralization of the 5 km times.

Without being heard by the officials determined to apply the regulations which set this threshold at 3 kilometers in the event of a fall or accident.

Would another decision have changed the course of things?

"The speed is too high," said van der Poel.

"It's the only race of the year where no one uses their brakes," said Jonathan Vaughters, EF Education team boss.

"Last year was an exceptionally safe Tour. But it looks like it's back to normal this year."

With van der Poel and Merlier, the Alpecin formation succeeded in any case on its debut in the Tour.

New to the Grande Boucle at the age of 28, Merlier repeated his early Giro performance when the Belgian had won a stage in the first week.

This time, his success was doubled by the second place of his compatriot Jasper Philipsen ahead of Nacer Bouhanni in a sprint distorted by the double fall of Ewan and Sagan.

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Tuesday, the sprinters have another chance between Redon and Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine) in the 4th stage limited to 150.4 kilometers and without any classified climb.

© 2021 AFP