The European Champion signed off Soudal Quick-Step’s 999th victory, bringing us closer to an incredible milestone.
Tim Merlier took the spoils in his first race with the team since mid-April, becoming the first Belgian rider since Tom Boonen in 2016 with multiple victories at the Brussels Cycling Classic, which on Sunday ran its 105th edition.
The course featured ten climbs, including multiple ascents of the Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg, as well as a tricky 2.2km cobblestone stretch not that far from home, but none of these could prevent the race from coming down to a showdown between the peloton’s fast men.
The best sprinter of the season, with seven wins to his name before this prestigious one-day race, the 32-year-old Belgian could count again on the support of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, and in the mass gallop was in a league of his own, putting several bike lengths into the other riders on the podium after another exceptional turn of legs in the final 200 meters.
“I knew there was some headwind there, so I just waited for the right moment to open my sprint. I have recently returned from altitude, and you never know how things are after coming back from this type of camp, but I felt good. The team did a perfect job today, on the hardest part of the race, but also as the peloton ramped up the pace in the final kilometers, where they kept me in a good position.”
“It was my first race with the guys in almost two months, but it turned out to be a great day for us and I’m happy. It’s incredible that we are now just one win away from Soudal Quick-Step’s 1000th all-time victory. We are all motivated and we hope to celebrate this amazing achievement soon”, said Tim after our fifth success in Brussels Cycling Classic.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
