The old adage that ‘sport can be cruel sometimes’ is not merely applicable to the Tour de France, it’s intrinsically woven into its history. There are over 180 highly motivated athletes, capable of reaching speeds above 70kph on the flat, trying to squeeze around corners that most drivers would drop into second gear to get around. The risks and consequences are higher than in any other sport. In cycling — more than most — when things go wrong, it’s not only cruel but painful, extremely painful. A flick of a switch, in this case a slight overlap of wheels, and just like that, the lights go out for the race of one of the Tour’s biggest players, Jasper Philipsen.
For two stages, Alpecin-Deceunink could do no wrong. A 100% win record, after Philipsen’s ferocious opening day win and Mathieu van der Poel’s punch to victory on stage two. The two teammates sat pretty in the green and yellow jerseys, respectively. With another flat finish on stage three into Dunkirk, they were eyeing up more success and a hat-trick of wins. But coming into stage three’s intermediate sprint, where the sprinters were jostling for green jersey points — a key objective for Philipsen and his team — everything changed. In a matter of seconds, Philipsen went from being in his element, lining up his kick, to lying on the verge, most of his bleeding back and shoulders exposed, jersey torn to shreds, with medics and team managers huddled around him.
Crashes are part and parcel of the sport, but this one was particularly bad, even though it affected relatively few riders. It was also an example of how futile the planning that goes into avoiding risky scenarios can be. How the months of training, avoiding illnesses, and preparing in wind tunnels can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Philipsen’s crash was just down to bad luck; it was the coming together of a couple of leadouts. Nothing could be done to avoid it. Blame shouldn’t be cast in any direction, but it was an example of how quickly things can change at the sport’s biggest race. From the career highlight of pulling on the maillot jaune, to peeling the scraps of lycra off his bleeding back, Philipsen has suffered at the hands of the Tour’s merciless and cruel rollercoaster.
Jasper Philipsen was leading the green jersey competition before he crashed out on stage three (Image: Zac Williams / SWpix.com)
However, with a world-class sprinter as a back-up option in Kaden Groves and Van der Poel in such pulsating form, the flick can be switched back — it would take a brave punter to bet against them adding to their two stages. Groves, himself, almost came a cropper on stage one, caught right behind a crash in the finale. His bike skills and instinct saved him and a matter of minutes he was back at the front leading Philipsen to victory. Such are the highs and lows of the Tour. Triumph is on the other end of a tight-rope walk.
Another prominent team on stage three felt the full unforgiving, contrasting fortunes available at the Tour. As Tim Merlier stormed to victory, pipping Jonathan Milan to the line, their GC leader Remco Evenepoel was picking himself up from the tarmac. Evenepoel’s crash occurred inside 5km of the finish, so no time was lost thanks to the rule, granting the same time to all the riders in one group in the case of any incidents in the final run-in. But getting bashed up, the additional recovery needs, disrupted sleep, and most importantly, added stress and nervousness, is hardly what the Belgian needed.
Remco Evenepoel has endured a tough start to the Tour de France (Image: Zac Williams / SWpix.com)
Evenepoel can’t seem to catch a break at this Grand Tour. On stage one, he frustratingly lost 0:39 to his key rivals Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). He was then unnecessarily embroiled in a social media spat when he was filmed not signing an autograph for a fan on the way back to his team bus. This latest setback was unwelcome and unlucky. The Tour is only three days old, but it will have felt like he’s been racing for a week with the amount of stress he’s had to deal with — stress both Pogačar and Vingegaard (with their teams shepherding them all day) haven’t had to deal with.
Where Evenepoel can take heart is in the unfortunate example of Alpecin — where there is a trough, there is also a peak. He may be feeling fortune is not on his side, but in a matter of hours or a day or two, things can change — just ask his fellow Belgian, Philipsen.
