2015 Tour de France: Stage 3 News, Notes and Quotes

It’s change all around as a massive crash shakes up the peloton in Stage 3 of the 2015 Tour de France. Here are the day’s news, notes and quotes.

Unprecedented Race Neutralization

Today’s 3rd stage of the 2015 Tour de France suffered an unusual neutralization by race officials as a huge high speed crash with more 50km to go at high speed took down a large part of the peloton. Several riders were caught in the crash, including yellow jersey wearer Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing). As a result of the first big crash, the race was initially neutralized and then stopped for 17 minutes by Le Tour race organizers.

A new start was then given with 50km to go, though the pace didn’t return to race speed until 44km to go.

Joaquim Rodriguez Celebrates Victory on Mur de Huy

It was familiar ground for Team Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez as he lit out for the finish line on the 1,1 km Mur de Huy and claimed the victory for the 3rd stage of the 2015 Tour de France. It was a move reminiscent of his 2012 win on the traditional finishing climb of Flèche Wallonne. Rodriguez, age 36, celebrated his fourth win of the cycling season and brings the total to thirty-four for the team, a record in the history of Team Katusha. The hilltop success also gave Joaquim Rodriguez the polka dot jersey as the best climber in the general classification.

“On the Mur everything went well. I attacked with 400 m to go,” said Rodriguez. “That is the perfect distance for me. I am explosive and this Mur suits me so well. The last time I wanted to wait a little longer and then I was closed in by others. I did not want to take that risk this time and I went full gas and it was perfect. I am so happy after the fabulous work of the team too.”

Chris Froome Avoids Carnage, Moves Into Yellow

Team Sky’s Chris Froome managed to avoid the crashes that eliminated race leader Fabian Cancellara before finishing in second place on the Mur de Huy to move into the leader’s jersey.

Froome hit the front to take it up on the famous Belgian climb, securing a sensational second place on the stage but moving into the race lead by a single second courtesy of time bonuses on the line.

The yellow jersey was the reward for a committed performance from Team Sky during a dramatic stage which featured crashes, cross-winds and hard climbs.

After the stage a thrilled Froome said: “It’s an amazing feeling to be back in yellow. If you’d have told me this morning I’d be in the jersey, I wouldn’t have believed you, but it’s amazing. Especially on a day like this which had a punchy climb in the final. That isn’t normally my kind of thing – I’m better on longer climbs – so I was really surprised to see the gaps open up like they did. I knew there would be gaps – but I didn’t expect them to be as significant as they were and allow me to get into yellow.

“I’ve got my team-mates to thank for the massive effort they put in. They turned themselves inside out to keep me near the front through the trickiest parts of the race. It was treacherous out there – we were up and down, left and right, and obviously there were the crashes as well. My team did a fantastic job and I couldn’t be happier with them.”

Tony Martin Moves to Second After Chaotic Stage

While Etixx-Quickstep rider Tony Martin did not figure in the battle on the Mur de Huy, he finished high enough in the stage to move into second place overall in the General Classification.

Martin trails Chris Froome in the G.C. by just one second as the race heads into Belgium for a dose of cobblestones on Tuesday.

Van Garderen Into Third Overall

BMC Racing Team’s Tejay van Garderen placed sixth on the finish climb of the Mur de Huy Monday at the Tour de France to move into third overall, while teammate Greg Van Avermaet was 15th and stands fifth overall.

“We saw some pretty bad crashes out there and a lot of confusion with the race being neutralized for awhile,” van Garderen said. “In the end, I would say the day was a pretty big success. Froome gained a little bit, but I was able to distance a couple people and keep most of the important guys pretty close.

“I really have to give it to the team today. They did a perfect job of keeping me safe and at the front.”

Protected Contador Remains At Striking Distance

Alberto Contador finished 12th on the stage, 18 seconds off of stage winner Joaquim Rodriguez. Following the stage finish, the team leader said that he lacked a bit of energy on the final climb.

“We saw some time differences today. I might have lacked a bit of sugar in the finale but I’ve always said that we will see bigger time differences in the mountains. Froome was very strong. He nearly won the stage today. But there are still many days of racing. You must stay positive. The yellow jersey gives you confidence, you tell yourself you’re well but it also creates pressure and responsibilities. Still I would love to hold it”, says Alberto Contador, who adds:

“Tomorrow on the cobbles, it will be a matter of survival. It’s an incredible Tour with a lot of stress, tensions and nerves everyday. Every year the stress is stronger and you leave a lot of energy. We must be very careful, anything can happen”.

Crash Ends Cancellara’s Tour de France

After flying through the air in the huge crash that led to a temporary race neutralization, Fabian Cancellara struggled to finish the stage. Shortly after he crossed the finish line, he was sent off to the hospital and X-rays confirmed the worst:  two transverse process fractures in two vertebrae bones of the lower back.

It is nearly the identical injury he sustained in E3 Harelbeke last March, but this time the L3 and L4 vertebrae on the right side were the culprits, not the L2 and L3 on the left side he injured in Harelbeke.

“This is incredibly disappointing for me,” said Cancellara. “The team was on a high with the yellow jersey and were very motivated to defend it. We have had a lot of crashes and injuries since the start of the season, and we finally had a great 24 hours but now it’s back to bad luck. One day you win, one day you lose.”

It’s a big blow to Trek Factory Racing only three days into the Tour de France and a day after Cancellara had claimed his 29th yellow jersey.

Tom Dumoulin Another Victim

Tom Dumoulin also crashed out of the race.

“Examination at the hospital have confirmed what we suspected, that Tom has an impression fracture in his glenohumeral joint,” said team physician Stephan Jacolino (NED). “Due to the crash his shoulder was dislocated and the medical team immediately put it back into position. The treatment plan will be made up in the Netherlands during the upcoming days.”

Tom Dumoulin explained: “It was nervous all day and with 60km to the finish a rider in front of me went down and I tried to pass him on the right side, but I was hit by one of the riders next to me and crashed headfirst. I slid into the grass and immediately knew that it was wrong.

“I am very sad that what should have been a beautiful day became a disaster.”