"There is a good chance he has broken something" - Mathieu van der Poel gutted to see Jasper Philipsen crash out of 2025 Tour de France

After a fairy-tale first couple of days at the 2025 Tour de France, Alpecin-Deceuninck would have been acutely aware that the good times wouldn't last forever. A violent stage 3 crash and abandon for stage 1 winner and Green Jersey wearer Jasper Philipsen was a very shocking bump back to earth however.

Although Mathieu van der Poel did enough to retain his overall race lead and the Maillot Jaune on stage 3, understandably, his thoughts were elsewhere when he spoke to the media afterwards. "All our thoughts are for sure with Jasper. It’s pretty sad to see him go like this," the Dutchman said sadly. "There is a good chance he has broken something. We had a pretty nice goal in winning the green jersey with him again. It’s not a happy day today."

As for what this means for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team going forward, Van der Poel admits a change in tactic will be required to try and recreate the success of the opening weekend. "I think Kaden Groves will become the sprinter of the team. He has shown in previous years that he is able to win big races," Van der Poel theorises. "It was difficult to refocus today, but in the coming days we will fight for victories with him."

"Tomorrow’s stage looks quite hard. I hope to have good legs in order to go for the win and keep the Yellow Jersey. Will I try to fight for the green jersey? I don’t think so," the Dutch superstar concludes. "It would be hard for me to win it, given that I have already missed some sprints finishes and intermediate sprints. I will rather focus on trying to win another stage."