You can more or less set your watch by it. The first week of the Tour de France almost never goes by without serious crashes. On the third stage of this year's tour, which began last week and will last until July 27, Belgian Jasper Philipsen was hit.

Frenchman Bryan Coquard skidded at around 60 kmph (37.3 mph) during an intermediate sprint. Philipsen, donning the green jersey worn by the best sprinter, could not avoid Coquard and crashed onto the asphalt.

The Belgian cyclist, who had won the first stage and even wore the leader's yellow jersey for a day, broke his collarbone and at least one rib. His Tour is now over, and Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger and Italian Filippo Ganna have already had to abandon the race after crashing during the opening stage.

Few chances for sprinters

"The first week is probably the most dangerous because everyone thinks they can make cycling history," said former rider Rolf Aldag, now sports director of the German team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. "In the second or third week, everyone knows where they belong. Then they pull back and slow down."

There are seven flat stages in this year's Tour de France, and most of them are in the first week. That adds to the pressure of the early stages for those looking to go fast because in the difficult mountain stages in the Pyrenees and the Alps later in the race, the sprinters are only concerned with reaching the finish within the prescribed time window.

The goal is to still be in contention for the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, which is usually decided in a sprint.

'Extreme willingness to take risks'

The third stage from Valenciennes to Dunkirk had actually started at a leisurely pace, as the author of this piece was able to see for himself at the edge of the route in the small town of Seclin. 

The peloton rolled along at a slow pace, even the usual breakaway attempts by individual riders failed to materialize due to the strong winds. But the crash occurred at the only sprint classification of the day, 60 kilometers before the finish in Dunkirk.

Two more were to follow, the last one during the final sprint, when several sprinters landed on the asphalt. Unlike Philipsen, they escaped with grazes.

"After the World Championships, the Tour is the biggest thing you can achieve as a professional cyclist. That's why the willingness to take risks is extremely high here," said German sprinter Phil Bauhaus, who finished third in Dunkirk.

"We rode through hell," said Eritrean Biniam Girmay, who won three stages and the green jersey in 2024. "I'm just super happy that I arrived safely. Whenever I heard a crash behind me, my heart rate went up to 300 (beats per minute)."

Yellow card for misconduct

To control the risk of falling, the UCI, cycling's world governing body, introduced yellow cards at the beginning of the year, similar to football. Sprinters can be warned if they "deviate from the chosen line and thus hinder or endanger another rider" or if they brake suddenly during a sprint.

In these cases, a fine of 500 Swiss francs (€535) will be handed out as well as a points deduction in the classification for the best sprinter. A second yellow card during a race results in a seven-day ban. This means disqualification for a multi-week tour such as the Tour de France.

Another new feature this year is that the finish zone can be extended from three to five kilometers before the finish line in flat stages where sprints are expected for the stage win. If a professional cyclist crashes within this zone, he will be counted at the same time as the group in which he was riding at the time of the crash. This means that they do not lose any time in the overall standings as a result of the crash, but they still have to cross the finish line somehow.

This article was adapted from its original German.