Armirail hits out at rival rider after Tour de France stage 3 crash

The French rider went down on Monday during the opening phase of the stage, bringing several other riders down with him. The incident happened while attacks were still flying at the front of the peloton as riders tried to form the day’s breakaway.

Television pictures did not clearly show the cause of the crash at first, with other riders blocking the view, but Armirail later shared footage on Instagram that offered a better angle. In the clip, a Caja Rural - Seguros RGA rider appeared to move across his line, causing the Frenchman to lose control of his front wheel and hit the tarmac on the right hand side of the bunch.

Armirail, who is riding with the number 13 bib, did not hide his frustration afterwards. In his message on social media, he suggested the move had been unnecessary and reckless.

“When it’s not possible to pass, but the guy gives you a big shove to make room for himself and get past… Thanks!”, he wrote, adding a telling thumbs up emoji.

According to the Tour’s medical bulletin, Armirail suffered knee pain and abrasions in the crash, although he was able to continue and complete the stage, finishing 169th, more than 36 minutes down.

For Netcompany-Ineos, the crash turned the stage into an exercise in damage limitation. Three of the team’s riders were caught up in the incident, with Tobias Foss, Michal Kwiatkowski and Thymen Arensman all losing ground. Foss and Kwiatkowski were able to work their way back through the convoy, but Arensman required more support before he could rejoin the peloton.

The Dutchman was eventually paced back by teammates after a lengthy chase, limiting the time lost and keeping himself in the race. 

Despite the crash, Arensman remained in the main group until deep into the final climb and went on to finish 19th on the stage. He now sits 16th overall, 2:19 down, keeping his general classification ambitions alive for the time being.

Only after the finish did the physical toll become clear. Arensman shared a photo on Strava of his heavily bandaged and swollen knee, adding: “Not ideal. But my teammates are absolute legends for bringing me back like that.”