The 30-year-old came home in fourth place.

Tim Merlier returned to racing for the first time since last month’s Paris-Roubaix, and he showed his strong legs despite not finishing in the top three on a day marred by crashes. Taking place over an undulating course, the stage that concluded in Abbeville was animated by a five-man breakaway, caught with only seven kilometers to go, in part thanks to the fantastic effort put in by the Soudal Quick-Step boys.

Unfortunately, numerous crashes happened in the closing kilometers, disrupting the sprint trains, among those affected being also Tim Merlier. Going under the flamme rouge, the Belgian Champion found himself alone, after his teammates were caught behind those pile-ups, and boxed in, making it impossible for him to find a space to launch his sprint. Even in these conditions, Tim showed his incredible speed, taking fourth place behind winner Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma).

“We knew that we had to be at the front, as crashes were a possibility, and the guys did a perfect job keeping me in a good position. But when the crashes began coming, we lost one another, Bert being among those held up. Due to all this, I was quite far when the sprint started, but being able to finish just outside the podium in these conditions gives me a lot of confidence for the next stages”, Tim explained.

 

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images

Race details

1 Olav Kooij
Jumbo-Visma
4:31:38
2 Max Walscheid
Cofidis
0:00
3 Paul Penhoët
Groupama - FDJ
0:00
4 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
5 Daniel McLay
Team Arkéa Samsic
0:00
6 Matteo Malucelli
Bingoal WB
0:00
7 Gerben Thijssen
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:00
8 Erlend Blikra
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
0:00
9 Stanisław Aniołkowski
Human Powered Health
0:00
10 Peter Sagan
TotalEnergies
0:00
37 Kasper Asgreen
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
43 Ethan Vernon
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
47 Jannik Steimle
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
72 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
91 Stan Van Tricht
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
124 Lars Craps
Soudal - Quick Step
2:22
1 Olav Kooij
Jumbo-Visma
4:31:28
2 Max Walscheid
Cofidis
0:04
3 Paul Penhoët
Groupama - FDJ
0:06
4 Alex Colman
Team Flanders - Baloise
0:07
5 Samuel Leroux
Van Rysel - Roubaix Lille Métropole
0:07
6 Mathis Le Berre
Team Arkéa Samsic
0:07
7 Anthony Turgis
TotalEnergies
0:07
8 Peter Sagan
TotalEnergies
0:08
9 Mark Stewart
Bolton Equities Black Spoke
0:08
10 Jannik Steimle
Soudal - Quick Step
0:09
12 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
44 Kasper Asgreen
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
50 Ethan Vernon
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
74 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
93 Stan Van Tricht
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
136 Lars Craps
Soudal - Quick Step
2:32
1 Olav Kooij
Jumbo-Visma
15 pt
2 Max Walscheid
Cofidis
12 pt
3 Paul Penhoët
Groupama - FDJ
9 pt
4 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
7 pt
5 Daniel McLay
Team Arkéa Samsic
6 pt
6 Matteo Malucelli
Bingoal WB
5 pt
7 Gerben Thijssen
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
4 pt
8 Samuel Leroux
Van Rysel - Roubaix Lille Métropole
3 pt
9 Mathis Le Berre
Team Arkéa Samsic
3 pt
10 Anthony Turgis
TotalEnergies
3 pt
16 Jannik Steimle
Soudal - Quick Step
1 pt
1 Alex Colman
Team Flanders - Baloise
11 pt
2 Kenny Molly
Van Rysel - Roubaix Lille Métropole
9 pt
3 Geoffrey Soupe
TotalEnergies
3 pt
4 Damien Girard
Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur
3 pt
5 Olivier Le Gac
Groupama - FDJ
2 pt
6 Mathis Le Berre
Team Arkéa Samsic
1 pt
7 Maciej Bodnar
TotalEnergies
1 pt
1 Olav Kooij
Jumbo-Visma
4:31:28
2 Paul Penhoët
Groupama - FDJ
0:06
3 Alex Colman
Team Flanders - Baloise
0:07
4 Mathis Le Berre
Team Arkéa Samsic
0:07
5 Gerben Thijssen
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:10
6 Milan Fretin
Team Flanders - Baloise
0:10
7 Rait Ärm
Van Rysel - Roubaix Lille Métropole
0:10
8 Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen
CIC U Nantes Atlantique
0:10
9 Axel Narbonne Zuccarelli
Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur
0:10
10 Tuur Dens
Team Flanders - Baloise
0:10
19 Ethan Vernon
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
35 Stan Van Tricht
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
52 Lars Craps
Soudal - Quick Step
2:32
1 Groupama - FDJ 13:34:54
2 Intermarché - Circus - Wanty 0:00
3 Cofidis 0:00
4 Jumbo-Visma 0:00
5 Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:00
6 Team Flanders - Baloise 0:00
7 Human Powered Health 0:00
8 Soudal - Quick Step 0:00
9 AG2R Citroën Team 0:00
10 Van Rysel - Roubaix Lille Métropole 0:00

Our road wolves

Related products

Related items

Tim Merlier: “Winning makes you want to win more”

Tim Merlier: “Winning makes you want to win more”

16/05/2023 - Riders
Link
4 Jours de Dunkerque - stage 1

4 Jours de Dunkerque - stage 1

16/05/2023 - Road
Link