The race jury of the Tour de France has penalized Bryan Coquard on Monday for causing the crash at the intermediate sprint in the third stage. Green jersey wearer Jasper Philipsen was the biggest victim.
Coquard received a fine of over 500 euros, a deduction of thirteen points in the points classification, and a yellow card. A second yellow card in this Tour could result in the Frenchman being removed from the race.
Leading up to the sprint, Coquard first hit the Belgian Laurenz Rex and, after a wobble, rode into the Belgian Jasper Philipsen. Philipsen landed hard on the asphalt. The green jersey wearer suffered multiple fractures and had to abandon the race.
Coquard reacted emotionally afterward. “It certainly wasn’t my intention to cause a crash,” he said at the finish in Dunkirk to Sporza. “I didn’t want to take any risks. You can imagine it’s not nice to see Jasper abandon the race. I want to apologize to him and his team.”
Green jersey wearer Philipsen crashes hard at intermediate sprint in Tour
Van Poppel also receives yellow card
Coquard was not the only rider to receive a yellow card. The Belgian Edward Theuns was also accused of incorrect behavior at the intermediate sprint. Danny van Poppel and the Italian Davide Ballerini were identified as the culprits for the crash in the last corner.
These are the first cards ever handed out in the Tour. The international cycling federation UCI introduced the card system at the beginning of this year to make cycling safer, although it did not achieve the desired result in the third stage on Monday.
Van Poppel also had the dubious honor of being the first male cyclist to receive a yellow card earlier this year. That happened in the Tour Down Under.