Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) rode to his first career Tour de France stage victory on a stage 3 marred by multiple crashes that saw several big names hit the deck.
Among the many fallers on the stage were Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). Race leader Mathieu van der Poel finished safely in the lead group to retain the Maillot Jaune for another day.
The peloton was swift to take to Twitter to offer their thoughts on the course (mostly negative) with a few choice words aimed at the UCI and ASO. We’ve curated all the reactions below.
Funny how the Supertuck and forearm positions got banned for „safety reasons“ while at the same time we have finishes like today in #letour
— Simon Geschke (@simongeschke) June 28, 2021
One of the most horrible finishes today – I hope everyone who went down is ok here at @LeTour . It’s madness here
— Ben O’Connor (@ben_oconnor95) June 28, 2021
I hope Lachlan Morton navigated that finish ok.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) June 28, 2021
Devastated, after the terrible crash of Caleb today, after a day of hard work @Lotto_Soudal
— Marc Sergeant (@marc_sergeant) June 28, 2021
Resetting our minds #TDF2021 and hope on a good recovery for our top sprinter !🤞 pic.twitter.com/LHzowescFC
:cold_face: • I was lucky today to stay on the saddle but I’m sad for those who had a different fate. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/2ENTtUSvzj
— Sonny Colbrelli (@sonnycolbrelli) June 28, 2021
Black day, but @JumboVismaRoad will bounce back. Best wishes for all the riders who went down. #LeTour2021
— Merijn Zeeman (@merijnzeeman) June 28, 2021
Roglič came from behind me to move up, and our handlebars got caught together, which almost pulled us both to the ground. It was only luck that I remained up on the bike. My reaction after the crash was more out of fear than anything else. [2/3]#TDF2021
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) June 28, 2021
Hard to comment on what happened today. It is inevitable there will be crashes when stakes are this high for both GC riders and sprinters in the first week.
— Matej Mohoric (@matmohoric) June 28, 2021
Whoever designed today’s stage @LeTour should try to ride with 180 riders on a twisty 5m wide road next to each other and pushing Wachbootes to the limits. Of course we riders make the race at the end but the riders also ask for an earlier time taking 5 km to go which was refused
— Andre Greipel (@AndreGreipel) June 28, 2021
Fuck it
— Jacopo Guarnieri (@jacopoguarnieri) June 28, 2021
Glad to get through today unscathed. Some nasty crashes, hope everyone is okay 🙏 #TDF2021 #stage3 pic.twitter.com/ghEYYtJ04X
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 28, 2021
J’ai regardé le replay du final d’aujourd’hui et franchement tout le monde avaient des chaussettes à la bonne hauteur donc tout va bien 🤷🏻♂️
— Julien Bernard (@JulienBernard17) June 28, 2021
Translation: “I watched the replay of today’s finale and frankly everyone had socks that were the right height so everything is fine.”
In F1 there is a quali for a reason. What happens in the first corner when everyone are allowed to start from P1? Success at @LeTour can change people lives… and we’re allowing 184 riders to take yellow, win a stage, take jerseys on Day 1 when we all know that road is 8m wide.
— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) June 28, 2021
You win together, you lose together. Speedy recovery Caleb. pic.twitter.com/Qme2xWtnHf
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) June 28, 2021
And off course: All the best to everyone who was involved in a crash! Hope they all heal quick 🤞 https://t.co/pJ2bOSLulO
— Jasper Philipsen (@JasperPhilipsen) June 28, 2021
…. 2/2 the peleton I spoke to the jury and said this was not correct under the extreme circumstances of a nasty crash and a mangled shoulder. I shouted at the jury and said some words i shouldn’t of. There ya have it, peace out ✌️ #chill
— Luke Rowe (@LukeRowe1990) June 28, 2021
Turn on subtitles in the video above for Philippe Gilbert’s views.