Tour de France: Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen retires after a heavy fall

As the intermediate sprint approached, the Alpecin rider, winner of the first stage in Lille, hit the ground hard after a gap from Frenchman Bryan Coquard, who was himself unbalanced by Belgian Lorenz Rex.
Jasper Philipsen's crash caused him to retire from the intermediate sprint. Bryan Coquard narrowly recovered after contact with Laurenz Rex, but the Frenchman's movement sent the green jersey to the ground. #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/qbmVzEk114
— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) July 7, 2025
The first yellow jersey of this 2025 edition, he was taken into care by the medical service on the side of the road with the top of his jersey completely torn off and his shoulders scraped.
The precise state of health of the Belgian rider was not immediately known.
This is a major blow for the Alpecin team, which had enjoyed two dream first days with victory and the yellow jersey for Philipsen in the first stage, followed by Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday in Boulogne-sur-Mer, also with the yellow jersey in the bag.
Philipsen, 27, has ten Tour de France victories, the second-highest total for a current rider behind Tadej Pogacar's 17.
He won four stages in the 2023 edition and easily won the green jersey in the points classification, which he was also aiming for this year.
His fall came after the third stage had been particularly calm until then after two eventful first stages marked by numerous falls.
Var-Matin