The Belgian came from absolutely nowhere in an electrifying finale to deliver our team’s fifth Grand Tour stage win of the year
11-Jul-2026: Tim Merlier won again at the Tour de France, twenty-four hours after sprinting to his first success at this 113th edition, in Bordeaux. The Belgian produced one of the best sprints of his career, this time in Bergerac, which returned as a finish for the first time since 2017, when it witnessed another Wolfpack victory, back then brought by Marcel Kittel.
Merlier delivered a true masterclass in the hectic final 500 meters of stage eight. After the last survivor of the breakaway was caught ahead of the flamme rouge and Jasper Stuyven made sure of stretching out the peloton, Tim tried to be in the best position possible going into the last corner, but found himself boxed in as everybody was fighting to make it to the front.
The bunch soon split, leaving the Belgian in a confused chasing group that looked to be out of contention, but as New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra used to say, “It ain’t over till it’s over”, and Tim showed just that with an out-of-this-world comeback. That stunning acceleration that left everyone speechless – and saw Merlier hit a maximum speed of 72.2km/h – propelled him to his 50th victory in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey.
“First of all, I want to thank the team, they did an amazing job again! I’m happy that I could win again after what was a hectic finale. I had to fight for position all the time and until the last meter of the stage. Just before the last corner I was a bit boxed in, and then they almost crashed. I thought it was over but I gave it a try to come back to the guys who did the lead-out and I managed to do that with a lot of speed, right up until the last 50 meters, where I felt my legs completely empty.”
“Most of the time, when you get a win, you also get a second one, and I’m delighted and proud I can count two victories after the first week of racing here”, said Tim, who joined Tom Boonen and Marcel Kittel as the only riders to have won back-to-back Tour de France stage for our team.
