"I saw Philipsen hit Coquard right in front of me" - Biniam Girmay saddened by sudden abandon of his rival

A mostly peaceful ride in Monday's stage 3 of the Tour de France was broken by the crash of Jasper Philipsen at the intermediate sprint with 60 kilometers to go. Biniam Girmay was right behind the Belgian when the incident occured.

And that was not the end of it. The arrival to Dunkeque saw two major crashes occur very close to the sprinter of Intermarché - Wanty, who luckily wasn't caught up in either of them. "I'm super happy I made it through safely," the Eritrean told Cyclism'Actu after the hectic finale.

"Every time I hear damage behind me, my heart goes up to 300," Girmay admits. "I feel super sorry for the guys who fell, including Philipsen. It's not nice to see someone fall, especially if it's at high speed. I thought if I finished safe, I'd be happy. In an instant, I was almost ready to stop pedaling because it's super hard."

The crash and subsequent abandon of Jasper Philipsen at the intermediate sprint came completely out of blue. "I don't even know what happened at the intermediate sprint, I saw Philipsen hit Coquard right in front of me and when I saw him fall, I felt super bad for him, he's an incredible rider and to see him fall and abandon the Tour de France... I really feel sorry for him."