Tour de France: Belgian rider Merlier wins third stage but Philipsen abandons

DUNKERQUE, France (AP) — Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey on Monday.

Defending champion Tadej Pogačar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard — the main contenders — finished safely as they rolled in together with the main pack.

But Stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen abandoned after he broke a collarbone in one of the early crashes.

When the sprinters turned for home into a strong headwind, several crashed near the line at top speeds of 65 kph (40 mph). Merlier just got the front of his wheel in front of Italian Jonathan Milan as they lunged to the line. German rider Phil Bauhaus was third.

It was Merlier's second career stage win on the Tour, four years after his first, which also came on Stage 3.

“It was a big battle and it was difficult to maintain my position, I came from very far back in the last two kilometers," he said. "When I found myself next to Milan, I knew it would be complicated to beat him.”

Van der Poel, who rides for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, did not contest the sprint the day after narrowly beating Pogacar to win Sunday’s rainy and hilly second stage.

Riders set off on Monday in wet conditions and wore light rain jackets on a 178-kilometer (110-mile) flat route from Valenciennes to coastal Dunkerque.

The pace was slower than the two first days but the conditions were treacherous and, about 50 kilometers from the end, Philipsen was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his side. Coquard was not to blame, however, as he lost balance only after being clipped by a rider overtaking him on the right.

Beside his broken right collarbone, Philipsen might have two broken ribs, his Alpecin–Deceuninck team said, adding he needs surgery.

Coquard looked remorseful when he spoke to media outside the Cofidis team bus after the stage.

“I've seen the images again, I really didn't know what happened in the moment," he said. "I would like to say sorry to Philipsen and Alpecin, even if it was not an intentional act."

Another crash with three kilometers left felled double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who was able to continue.

Then, with the finish in sight, a few more crashed — including Coquard, who somersaulted off his bike.

The 174-kilometer fourth stage is another hilly one for allrounders like Van der Poel and his former cyclo-cross rival Wout van Aert. It starts from Amiens and ends with five consecutive small climbs to the Normandy city of Rouen.

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The pack with Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey rides during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, right, rides with Germany's Nils Politt, center, and France's Lenny Martinez during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Belgium's Tim Merlier, center, and Italy's Jonathan Milan, right, sprint to the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Belgium's Tim Merlier, left, and Italy's Jonathan Milan cross the finish line during the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 178.3 kilometers (110.8 miles) with start in Valenciennes and finish in Dunkerque, France, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)