Yesterday's stage finishing in Dunkirk seemed like a race in the Wild West, with repeated crashes and riders down more or less injured. The jury also worked hard, with yellow cards (and monetary sanctions) given to Coquard, Theuns, Ballerini and Van Poppel for irregularities during the intermediate and final sprints.

The green jersey Jasper Philipsen fell during the intermediate sprint. Evenepoel ended up on the ground again, while De Lie barely stayed upright and Jordi Meeus crossed the finish line quite battered. The third stage was a real battlefield, as confirmed by the medical reports released at the end of the race: Jasper Philipsen was taken to Bethune hospital, where he was diagnosed with a displaced fracture of the right collarbone, one or more broken ribs, and multiple abrasions. He will return to Belgium today for surgery. Emilien Jeanniere suffered facial trauma and will follow the concussion protocol, while Pithie, Meeus, Berthet and Rex sustained multiple abrasions. Any additional problems from the night will be discovered at the sign-in sheet in a few hours.

Incredibly, in a stage with so many crashes, there was no sporting battle to the point that the combativity prize was not awarded, something that hadn't happened since 2019, when due to hail hitting the race, no rider had gone on the attack.

Yesterday, the jury decided not to award the combativity prize because, except for a brief acceleration by Tim Wellens to win the polka dot jersey, no rider attempted the slightest action. The peloton was likely discouraged by the stage profile, which favored sprinters, and the strong headwind, especially at the finish. At the Tour, there's a rule that riders must always honor the race, and this did not happen in the third stage, so the commissioners decided that no prize should be awarded.