Tour de France Stage 3 Predictions: Sprinters to the fore again

Mathieu van der Poel will start Stage 3 of the Tour de France in the Yellow Jersey after the Dutchman produced a trademark powerhouse performance on Stage 2's uphill finish into Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Van der Poel, who pipped three-time champion Tadej Pogacar to the line on Sunday, will resume his duties as a member of Jasper Philipsen's leadout train when the sprinters again do battle in the next stage. Read on for my Tour de France Stage 3 predictions.

Stages 1 and 2 were all about Alpecin–Deceuninck, and after Philipsen's victory in Lille on Stage 1, Van der Poel then powered his way to the line the following afternoon to retain the Yellow Jersey for the Belgian team.

Tour de France Stage 3 Odds

Philipsen goes hunting a second stage win on Monday, where main rivals Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan will be out to gain revenge after both were denied the chance to contest the Stage 1 finish.

The Route 

Stage 3 is a 178.3km route from Valenciennes to Dunkerque - the last of three stages in north-eastern France before attention switches west to Amiens on Tuesday.

The most difficult climb comes with the Category 4 Cote de Cassel with 30.9kms remaining, but that won't trouble the fast men, and a bunch sprint should materialise with the main sprint teams likely to control the pace for much of the day before launching their leadouts in the final kilometres.

However, as was the case in Lille in Stage 1, won by Philipsen, wind and rain is anticipated and those inclement weather conditions could again cause havoc in the peloton.

Jasper Philipsen @ 3/1

Philipsen took advantage of his main rivals' shortcomings on Stage 1, easing to a 10th Tour de France stage win once Merlier and Milan had been taken out of the sprint when crosswinds blew the peloton to pieces.

We will never know what would've happened had Merlier and Milan been close enough to contest the finish in Lille, but we do know that Philipsen was head and shoulders above those who did make it to the line in the first bunch, with help from his formidable leadout train.

Alpecin–Deceuninck have brought a team which is built to pilot Philipsen into the strongest possible positions, and in Stage 1 he was able to sit third behind Classics powerhouse Mathieu van der Poel and multiple Grand Tour stage winner Kaden Groves, before dominating the sprint.

Philipsen relinquished the Yellow to his teammate Van der Poel in difficult Classics-like conditions in Stage 2, but he's in the race to win these flat stages, and he could top the podium for an 11th time in Dunkerque.

Biniam Girmay @ 14/1

If conditions do cause problems for the big three, Intermarche–Wanty's Biniam Girmay could pick up the pieces.

Girmay, the winner of the points classification and three individual stages at last year's Tour, has been active over the opening two days of this year's race, finishing second behind Philipsen in Stage 1, and finishing right alongside the big guns in an intermediate sprint in Stage 2.

A mechanical issue meant that Girmay was unable to even contemplate contesting the Stage 2 finish, but that could prove a blessing in disguise for the Eritrean rider, who will hope to be at full fitness after suffering a bang on the knee.

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