Van Poppel stripped of Deutschland Tour stage 3 win after irregular sprint, Wærenskjold takes the victory
Update: Van Poppel was subsequently handed his fourth yellow card for this infraction, in addition to relegation.
Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe's Danny van Poppel raised his arms in celebration at the end of stage 3 of the Lidl Deutschland Tour in Kassel, but his triumph was short-lived. Moments after he crossed the line, the Dutch national champion was relegated to last in his group (33rd) after a dangerous swerve in the closing metres forced Matthew Brennan and Søren Wærenskjold to take evasive action.
As the Norwegian crossed the line behind Van Poppel, stage 2-winner Brennan finished 8th, gesticulating wildly. Both were ultimately upgraded, Wærenskjold winning his second stage of the race ahead of Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) and Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers), also extending his lead in the GC.
Since the inception of the UCI's yellow card system, the Dutchman was already the leading recipient with a total of three since January of this year (one each at the Tour Down Under, UAE Tour and Tour de France). They have however been spread out enough that he's yet to earn a suspension, the only rider to reach that point has been Oscar Riesebeek.
[race_result id=36 stage_id=88811 count=5 gc=0 year=2025]
[race_result id=36 stage_id=88811 count=5 gc=5 year=2025]
