In the first bunch sprint finish of this year’s Tour, Philipsen, 25, beat off Germany’s Phil Bauhaus, with Australia’s Caleb Ewan finishing third.

Mark Cavendish of the United Kingdom was sixth when the race passed from Spain to the finish in Bayonne, France.

Yates now has a six-second lead over teammate Tadej Pogacar and his brother Simon.

The third stage of the Tour de France as it occurred
It was a thrilling conclusion to an 187.4km stage that began in Amorebieta-Etxano and ended on the French side of the border.

Philipsen was masterfully guided out by Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel to finish half a wheel clear of Bauhaus and Ewan, but there was significant debate regarding how his colleague Wout van Aert was forced out of the race.

Van Aert, who finished second in the second stage on Sunday, tried to pass Philipsen on the inside of the final curve but ran out of room due to the barriers and had to slow down.

Before declaring Philipsen’s victory, the race commissaires studied video evidence of the incident.

“It was a little bit of a doubt, but they make it really exciting in the end,” Philipsen added after learning the outcome would stand.

“It was tense, but this is the Tour de France, and there are no prizes.” We may be really pleased with the team’s performance. It had a terrific leadout with Jonas [Rickaert], and then Mathieu performed an outstanding job, and I’m thrilled to have made it to the finish line.

“I tried to take the shortest route to the finish, and I’m really happy to be the first one over the line.”

Cavendish had been close to Philipsen’s wheel as the sprinters jockeyed for position before the final kilometre, but he was unable to mount his own decisive move.

The ‘Manx Missile’ was still happy at the finish line, and he will have another chance to break the record of 34 Tour stage wins he now shares with Eddy Merckx during stage four on Tuesday.

Another pack sprint is planned at the finish of the 181.8-kilometer circuit from Dax to Nogaro.