First sprint, first win for Merlier

First sprint, first win for Merlier

Tim Merlier confirmed he is one of the fastest riders in the peloton, dashing to victory – his first on the road in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey – on the opening stage of the Tour of Oman, which incidentally was the sprinters’ only opportunity to leave their mark at this edition.

Benefitting from a fast and furious lead-out train consisting of Jordi Warlop and Bert Van Lerberghe, the 30-year-old, who was victorious in the Zonnebeke cyclo-cross earlier this season, emerged at the front of the peloton only with the finish line in sight, and despite kicking out with around 200 meters to go, he gave absolutely no chance to his opponents, who were left fighting for the minor places on the podium.

The huge burst of speed he produced in the stage 1 finale allowed Tim to sit up and celebrate before crossing the line, as he dedicated his win to his new-born son, Jules. This success moved Soudal Quick-Step closer to its 900th victory, only two more wins separating the Wolfpack from this astonishing milestone.

“I couldn’t be happier! I’ve been a father for almost two weeks now, and this is what makes today’s result so special. This victory is for my son. Ok, I had already won that cyclo-cross race last month, but I was really eager to experience this feeling as fast as possible on the road, and I’m delighted that I did it here, in my very first stage race with the team.”

“In the closing kilometers, I lost the guys a bit, but I could come back, and it was quite easy to follow Bert from that moment on. Then, in the sprint, I went a bit too early, but I had what it took to keep the speed, and this gives me a lot of confidence for the future”, Tim said after scoring Soudal Quick-Step’s 66th win in the Middle East.

 

Photo credit: ©Alex Broadway / Getty Images

Race details

1 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
3:31:00
2 David Dekker
Team Arkéa Samsic
0:00
3 Axel Zingle
Cofidis
0:00
4 Arne Marit
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:00
5 Kristoffer Halvorsen
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
0:00
6 Pascal Ackermann
UAE Team Emirates
0:00
7 Matthew Walls
BORA - hansgrohe
0:00
8 Alexander Salby
Bingoal WB
0:00
9 Max Kanter
Movistar Team
0:00
10 Rüdiger Selig
Lotto Dstny
0:00
24 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
34 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
67 Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
112 Jordi Warlop
Soudal - Quick Step
0:23
119 Josef Černý
Soudal - Quick Step
1:28
122 Fausto Masnada
Soudal - Quick Step
0:00
1 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
3:30:50
2 David Dekker
Team Arkéa Samsic
0:04
3 Jeroen Meijers
Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team
0:05
4 Axel Zingle
Cofidis
0:06
5 Rodrigo Alvarez Rodriguez
Burgos-BH
0:06
6 Arne Marit
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:10
7 Kristoffer Halvorsen
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
0:10
8 Pascal Ackermann
UAE Team Emirates
0:10
9 Matthew Walls
BORA - hansgrohe
0:10
10 Alexander Salby
Bingoal WB
0:10
26 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
36 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
68 Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
112 Fausto Masnada
Soudal - Quick Step
0:10
114 Jordi Warlop
Soudal - Quick Step
0:33
120 Josef Černý
Soudal - Quick Step
1:38
1 Tim Merlier
Soudal - Quick Step
15 pt
2 David Dekker
Team Arkéa Samsic
12 pt
3 Axel Zingle
Cofidis
9 pt
4 Arne Marit
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
7 pt
5 Kristoffer Halvorsen
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
6 pt
6 Jeroen Meijers
Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team
5 pt
7 Pascal Ackermann
UAE Team Emirates
5 pt
8 Rodrigo Alvarez Rodriguez
Burgos-BH
4 pt
9 Matthew Walls
BORA - hansgrohe
4 pt
10 Said Al Rahbi
Oman
3 pt
1 David Dekker
Team Arkéa Samsic
3:30:54
2 Axel Zingle
Cofidis
0:02
3 Rodrigo Alvarez Rodriguez
Burgos-BH
0:02
4 Arne Marit
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:06
5 Matthew Walls
BORA - hansgrohe
0:06
6 Alexander Salby
Bingoal WB
0:06
7 Maxim Van Gils
Lotto Dstny
0:06
8 Barnabás Peák
Human Powered Health
0:06
9 Ceriel Desal
Bingoal WB
0:06
10 Iván Cobo Cayón
Equipo Kern Pharma
0:06
12 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal - Quick Step
0:06
1 UAE Team Emirates 10:33:00
2 JCL Team UKYO 0:00
3 Team Arkéa Samsic 0:00
4 Soudal - Quick Step 0:00
5 Human Powered Health 0:00
6 Bingoal WB 0:00
7 Cofidis 0:00
8 AG2R Citroën Team 0:00
9 Intermarché - Circus - Wanty 0:00
10 Lotto Dstny 0:00

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