Tim Merlier claims first Tour de France stage win in Bordeaux as Tadej Pogacar extends yellow jersey lead
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Tim Merlier crushes Tour de France sprints with record-breaking stage win as Pogacar dominates mountains
Tim Merlier delivered a statement of intent on Friday, claiming his first Tour de France stage victory in emphatic fashion as Tadej Pogacar extended his yellow jersey lead with a virtuoso display on the Col du Tourmalet. The Belgian sprinter, who had endured a frustrating wait for a sprint finish, powered to victory in Bordeaux, asserting his status as the peloton’s most lethal finisher when it matters most.
Merlier, 30, had been denied a fair shot at glory in Pau when his lead-out man Bert Van Lerberghe crashed ahead of him, forcing the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider to launch his sprint from too far out. “I had to launch my effort from too far away,” he admitted after finishing third. “It wasn’t enough.” But in Bordeaux, with Jasper Stuyven stepping into the breach, Merlier made no such mistakes. He surged past the line ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay, securing his fourth stage win of the season and his first on the Tour since 2025.
The victory capped a remarkable comeback from knee troubles that had sidelined him for months. “For several weeks, doctors couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong,” a close associate told *La Libre*. “The uncertainty wasn’t fun, but he told himself the wheel would turn. He was calmer than everyone around him.” It did. After a 16-win 2025 campaign, Merlier returned to form with victories at the GP de l’Escaut in April and the Tour of Limburg, before claiming three stage wins at the Tour of Hungary. His Tour de France preparation culminated in a hat-trick at the Tour of Belgium, leaving him “ready for the big one.”
Speaking two days before the Grand Départ in Barcelona, Merlier dismissed the green jersey as a secondary target. “I’m here to win stages,” he said. “The green jersey? I’m not interested in it. To have a chance of bringing it back to Paris, I’d need to win three or four times.” His Bordeaux triumph suggests he remains the man to beat in the sprints, even as Philipsen, Girmay, and Mads Pedersen target the points classification.
Pogacar, meanwhile, continues to rewrite the record books. His ascent of the Col du Tourmalet on Thursday was described by former sprinter Borut Božič as “a masterclass.” Božič, now sporting director at Bahrain Victorious, told *RTV Slovenija*: “Tim Merlier is currently the fastest rider in the peloton. His sprints, launched from deep, are inspiring. He doesn’t rely on team support like Philipsen, who was left wanting in the final metres. Merlier came from behind and beat everyone.”
The Tour’s seventh stage also saw a rare flashpoint between Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, whose failure to collaborate in the opening mountain stage sparked frustration. “Remco was furious,” Božič noted. “Lipowitz didn’t help him chase for a podium finish and bonus seconds.”
As the race heads toward its second rest day, the battle for the green jersey remains wide open, but Merlier’s Bordeaux victory has shifted the narrative. The Belgian has proven once again that when the road flattens, he is the man to fear. Pogacar, meanwhile, has extended his lead with a display of climbing prowess that has left even his most ardent admirers struggling to find comparisons. “He’s not yet in the same league as Hinault or Merckx,” wrote *De Morgen*, “but the gap is closing fast.”
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