Mathieu van der Poel back in yellow

Dream weekend for Alpecin-Deceuninck overshadowed as Philipsen crashes out

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Alpecin-Deceuninck enjoyed a dream opening weekend of the 2025 Tour de France until their star sprinter and the race’s first yellow jersey abandoned on stage three after crashing.

Jasper Philipsen won the opening stage in Lille after crosswinds caught several of the pre-race favourites out, and then 24 hours later Mathieu van der Poel edged Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard in an uphill finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

But en route to Dunkirk on stage three, French rider Bryan Coquard collided with Philipsen as they were racing for the intermediate sprint. The Belgian sported significant cuts and grazes to his shoulder and back and quit the race minutes after.

“It’s a real bummer to lose Jasper,” Van der Poel said after the third stage. “It was always one of our goals to try and win stages with him and go for the green jersey.

“I think everybody is just sad to lose Jasper. It’s really s**t to lose him, not only on the bike but also at the dinner table. He’s always funny, he’s a good friend, but of course it’s even more difficult for him.”

It was later revealed that Philipsen had fractured his collarbone, and had broken at least one rib.

Dream start

The incident overshadowed what had previously been the perfect weekend for Alpecin, who have only been a WorldTour team since 2023, and as recently as 2018 were predominantly a cyclo-cross team with very little commitment to road cycling.

"IT'S THE HIGHEST HONOUR WE CAN ACHIEVE FOR A TEAM LIKE OURS"

“We have had yellow before already [in previous Tours] so we know what it means, but for a team like ours it’s the highest honour we can achieve,” said Christoph Roodhooft, who runs the team with his brother Philip.