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Live report recap: Tour de France - Stage 3 - Tim Merlier takes win after crash-filled finale

Stage 3 of the 2025 Tour de France sees the riders taken on a 184 kilometre stage from Valenciennes finishing in Dunkerque. The majority of the stage is likely to be played out in a headwind, so, any daring attackers are going to challenged extremely, especially with the stage being the flattest stage of the Tour. The stage will get underway at 13:10 CEST and finish at approximately 17:20 CEST.

by Ethan Lessiter
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Mathieu van der Poel Jasper Philipsen Tour de France 2025
Cor Vos

With just 702 metres of elevation and a flat 178.3km route, stage 3 is set for the first full bunch sprint of this Tour. The only climb, Mont Cassel, won’t trouble the peloton - but positioning into the final 1.5km corner in Dunkirk will be crucial. Expect a showdown between Tim Merlier, Jasper Philipsen and Jonathan Milan, with Alpecin–Deceuninck, Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek all bringing powerful lead-out trains.

Follow it all live in our stage 3 live report, from roll-out to sprint finish. Looking for our full preview? You can find it here.

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