"It was a big risk, especially for a sprint like that" - Soren Waerenskjold critical after Jasper Philipsen abandons the 2025 Tour de France

The Tour de France peloton was rocked by a number of crashes in a dramatic finale to stage 3 on Monday afternoon. Afterwards, CyclingUpToDate were part of the media on the ground looking to find out what exactly led to the chaos.

Speaking to Uno-X Mobility sprinter Soren Waerenskjold, the Norwegian explained how nerves had led to some of the peloton making some dangerous and desperate moves. "Today was... the best legs I've ever had, but I made the worst decision. I should have pushed a lot harder," he began, having crossed the line in 4th position. "I lost a bit of speed, and then I had to start up again. I should’ve just kept the momentum and gone for it."

"When you're going at 70 km/h at the end, and you drop down 5 km/h, it’s so hard to get back up to speed. At that pace, those small adjustments mean more than when you’re riding at 30. It’s tough to get your sprint going again," he explains. "I’m just glad I didn’t crash. There were a lot of crashes right in front of me at the end — it was chaos."

Although a little bit before the finale, the worst rider effected by the nervousness was Jasper Philipsen, who crashed violently at the intermediate sprint and was ultimately forced to abandon the race. "I was lucky," Waerenskjold recalls of the incident. "A lot of riders tried to squeeze between others - It was a big risk, really, especially for a sprint like that."

Then in the final sprint, there were a number of crashes, with notable riders such as Remco Evenepoel, Jordi Meeus and Geraint Thomas among those caught up. "It was wild. Some riders were really nervous, and there were a few dangerous moments," recounts the Uno-X Mobility sprinter.

And having been selected as the team's sprinter ahead of the legendary Alexander Kristoff, Waerenskjold also looked to prove a point having been labelled a 'fake sprinter' in the press back home. "Yeah, I heard that. I don’t come here in my best form or with the best legs, but I do a lot of things right to stay in the race. Sure, it’s frustrating. You can get sad or start forcing your way through — but that uses up even more energy," he concludes. "It’s a bit inappropriate to hear that label, honestly. But I know I have to get tougher. I have to win a couple of races before I can really take space out there. Until then, I just have to keep proving myself."