Tour de France: Bauhaus narrowly misses out on a coup on stage 3

Phil Bauhaus pedalled with his last ounce of strength and pushed his racing bike towards the finish line, but the big coup failed to materialise. The Bocholt Tour debutant narrowly missed out on his first stage win at the Tour de France. Instead, the Belgian Jasper Philipsen celebrated in the first big sprint finish of the 110th Tour of France.

Bauhaus about his sprint

Philipsen, who had already won two stages last year, had the greater stamina on the third stage after 193.5 kilometres from Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne, with the Australian Caleb Ewan finishing third.

But what a courageous performance Bauhaus put in between all the sprint stars. "I believed for two or three seconds that it could work out. But Philipsen was simply stronger in the end. Second place is nice, but in the end you just want to win," said Bauhaus.

Only at the last minute did the 28-year-old receive his Tour ticket in the Bahrain-Victorious team, which had just had to come to terms with the tragic death of Swiss rider Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse. Everyone for Mäder was the team's motto. Bauhaus himself reported that he had shed bitter tears after the death of his team-mate. Mäder had fallen into a ravine on a descent during the Tour de Suisse in mid-June and died a day later.

Adam Yates stays in the yellow jersey

The sprinters' day had no effect on the overall classification. Two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar had to take a break after every bonus second in his chase and remains in second place, six seconds behind team-mate and season opener winner Adam Yates. On the first two days, the Slovenian had gained a total of eleven seconds on the Danish defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. Former Tour fourth-placed Emanuel Buchmann remains the best German in the overall classification.

Results: This is the status of the rankings.

In Bayonne, however, it was the sprinters' turn, led by Philipsen. The 25-year-old had already won two stages of the Tour last year, including the prestigious sprint on the Champs Élysées in Paris. This underlined his claim to be the best sprinter in the world.

Since his successful Tour 2022, Philipsen has developed even further. This year, he also played a role in the classics, even finishing second in Paris-Roubaix - behind his team-mate Mathieu van der Poel.

Safety concerns accompany Tour entourage

The Tour's return to France was also accompanied by security concerns, especially as there have been riots in France's major cities for days following the death of a 17-year-old at a police checkpoint. "We are working closely with the authorities. I speak to the Ministry of the Interior morning, noon and night. We remain focussed and vigilant," said Pierre-Yves Thouault, deputy director of the race. It is good for the tour that a major French city, Bordeaux, will not be tackled until next Friday.

The vulnerability of the Tour was demonstrated on Sunday when unknown persons apparently distributed drawing pins on the road. Numerous professional cyclists had to change their bikes around 20 kilometres before the finish due to punctures. Three riders from the German Bora-Hansgrohe racing team were also affected. On Monday there was again a conspicuous number of punctures. The reason for this was initially unknown.

On Tuesday, the sprinters can once again hope for a mass finish when the fourth stage over 181.8 kilometres from Dax to Nogaro finishes on the Paul Armagnac motorsport circuit. The final 800 metre climb is a straight line.

Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved