The Belgian once again asserted his dominance over the bunch gallops and made it a dozen wins this season.
Tim Merlier is the name. Winning races is the game. The European Champion claimed the big prize again at the most prestigious race in the world after putting in another magnificent sprint to take the victory in Châteauroux, where Soudal Quick-Step won at the previous visit, in 2021.
Completely flat, stage nine should have been a quiet one – on paper, at least – the presence of a strong duo up the road and the constant echelon threat forcing the peloton to remain alert and chase hard, which resulted in the second-fastest stage in the history of the Tour de France: a remarkable 50.01km/h!
Going into the closing kilometers, as things began heating up, the 32-year-old demonstrated both calmness and a clinical mindset, staying out of the wind the entire time and waiting for the last 200 meters to pounce and overcome Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) for his second victory of the week at the end of another nail-biting sprint.
“I’m happy I could win here today and repay the team for all their hard work. It was nervous out there the entire day because of the wind, but in the end the peloton stayed together. The heat also made things really tough, so it wasn’t at all an easy stage despite the profile. We chased hard behind the escapees, but we pulled together with other teams and managed to bring them back.”
“Coming into Châteauroux, I lost Bert for a moment but then found him with two kilometers to go and was relaxed again at that point and really confident, which allowed me to do a perfect sprint. I remember Cav’s victory here from four years ago and I’m happy I could bring another win for Soudal Quick-Step in this beautiful city. Two victories from two bunch sprints in which I was present make for a great Tour de France for myself, but also for the squad”, said Tim after helping Soudal Quick-Step become the first team to score three wins at this edition.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
