UAE Tour: Merlier back in green

UAE Tour: Merlier back in green

Tim Merlier is leading again the points classification at the World Tour race after finishing on the podium on stage 5 – the sprinters’ penultimate opportunity this week. The Belgian – victorious on the previous two days that concluded in a mass gallop – was again the fastest in the bunch, but had to come from a long way back on the finishing straight, and despite making up ground at an incredible pace, he lost for the smallest of margins on the line and had to settle for second.

It was Merlier’s sixth podium of the season, and the points it came with meant that the 31-year-old reclaimed the green jersey which he wore for one day this week, after the opening stage. With just one more chance for the sprinters here, Tim is in pole-position to take it home, just like he did two weeks ago, at the AlUla Tour.

“Today was a really close one. I am disappointed, of course, because I didn’t win, as I had the legs and the confidence, but at the same time I am happy with getting back the green jersey. I have a pretty good advantage in the standings and hopefully it will be mine also mathematically after Saturday, when I will try again with the help of my team”, said Merlier after Soudal Quick-Step’s 21st top-three result of the year.

 

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images

Race details

1 Olav Kooij
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
4:08:38
2 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
3 Sam Welsford
BORA - hansgrohe
0:00
4 Simone Consonni
Lidl - Trek
0:00
5 Milan Fretin
Cofidis
0:00
6 Phil Bauhaus
Bahrain - Victorious
0:00
7 Dylan Groenewegen
Team Jayco AlUla
0:00
8 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:00
9 Kaden Groves
Alpecin - Deceuninck
0:00
10 Fabio Jakobsen
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
0:00
52 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
54 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
55 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
73 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
114 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
121 Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
1 Jay Vine
UAE Team Emirates
15:50:09
2 Ben O'Connor
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
0:11
3 Brandon McNulty
UAE Team Emirates
0:13
4 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:21
5 Pello Bilbao López de Armentia
Bahrain - Victorious
0:22
6 Max Poole
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
0:31
7 Tobias Foss
INEOS Grenadiers
0:33
8 Simon Carr
EF Education - EasyPost
0:36
9 Lennert Van Eetvelt
Lotto Dstny
0:37
10 Mikkel Bjerg
UAE Team Emirates
0:37
15 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
1:01
25 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
1:31
91 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
18:31
106 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
18:55
107 Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step
18:59
109 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
19:03
1 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
56 pt
2 Mark Stewart
Team Corratec - Vini Fantini
48 pt
3 Olav Kooij
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
32 pt
4 Jay Vine
UAE Team Emirates
32 pt
5 Arvid de Kleijn
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
32 pt
6 Lennert Van Eetvelt
Lotto Dstny
28 pt
7 Brandon McNulty
UAE Team Emirates
21 pt
8 Ben O'Connor
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
20 pt
9 Sam Welsford
BORA - hansgrohe
19 pt
10 Jakub Mareczko
Team Corratec - Vini Fantini
19 pt
13 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
12 pt
42 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
1 pt
1 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
15:50:30
2 Max Poole
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
0:10
3 Lennert Van Eetvelt
Lotto Dstny
0:16
4 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
0:40
5 Harold Martín López Granizo
Astana Qazaqstan Team
0:42
6 Matthew Riccitello
Israel - Premier Tech
0:45
7 Natnael Tesfatsion
Lidl - Trek
1:09
8 Alexy Faure Prost
Intermarché - Wanty
1:31
9 Iván Romeo Abad
Movistar Team
2:01
10 Pelayo Sánchez Mayo
Movistar Team
2:30
1 UAE Team Emirates 47:31:23
2 Bahrain - Victorious 0:59
3 Soudal Quick-Step 1:57
4 Lidl - Trek 2:35
5 Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team 4:09
6 Movistar Team 4:30
7 Team Visma | Lease a Bike 5:32
8 EF Education - EasyPost 7:18
9 Lotto Dstny 7:20
10 INEOS Grenadiers 8:49

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22/02/2024 - Race report
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