Tour de France
Stage 8: Saint-Méen-le-Grand - Laval
France
Saturday 12 July 2025
174 km
No luck for Merlier at Le Tour

The Tour de France returned to Laval – where current Soudal Quick-Step sports director won a bunch sprint in 1999 – but the outcome was different this time, as Tim Merlier couldn’t contest the uphill bunch sprint in the charming city located in the Pays de la Loire region.
Completely flat, with the exception of a small classified climb in the final part, the stage was a quiet one, animated by a late two-man breakaway that took off around 60 kilometers from the line and remained off the front until the closing ten kilometers. Tim Merlier started the day as one of the main favourites, especially after his win on the third stage, but the European Champion’s plans were derailed by a puncture with 12 kilometers to go, which required him to change the bike.
Merlier had to chase hard in order to come back to the peloton, and that effort took its toll as the speed increased in the bunch on the uphill finish in Laval. The Belgian couldn’t contest the sprint, won by Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and came home a couple of seconds later. His Soudal Quick-Step teammate Remco Evenepoel concluded with the group and kept hold of the white jersey, at the same time, remaining in second place overall.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Jonathan Milan Lidl - Trek |
3:50:26 |
2 |
Wout van Aert Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
0:00 |
3 |
Kaden Groves Alpecin - Deceuninck |
0:00 |
4 |
Pascal Ackermann Israel - Premier Tech |
0:00 |
5 |
Arnaud De Lie Lotto |
0:00 |
6 |
Tobias Lund Andresen Team Picnic PostNL |
0:00 |
7 |
Bryan Coquard Cofidis |
0:00 |
8 |
Alberto Dainese Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
0:00 |
9 |
Vincenzo Albanese EF Education - EasyPost |
0:00 |
10 |
Stian Fredheim Uno-X Mobility |
0:00 |
29 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
48 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
56 |
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:23 |
65 |
Pascal Eenkhoorn
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:41 |
82 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:53 |
100 |
Maximilian Schachmann
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:11 |
102 |
Valentin Paret-Peintre
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:11 |
1 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates - XRG |
29:48:30 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:54 |
3 |
Kévin Vauquelin |
1:11 |
4 |
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
1:17 |
5 |
Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin - Deceuninck |
1:29 |
6 |
Matteo Jorgenson Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
1:34 |
7 |
Oscar Onley Team Picnic PostNL |
2:49 |
8 |
Florian Lipowitz Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
3:02 |
9 |
Primož Roglič Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
3:06 |
10 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Lidl - Trek |
3:43 |
41 |
Pascal Eenkhoorn
Soudal Quick-Step |
21:08 |
44 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step |
23:03 |
77 |
Maximilian Schachmann
Soudal Quick-Step |
35:15 |
100 |
Valentin Paret-Peintre
Soudal Quick-Step |
46:08 |
150 |
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:07:24 |
153 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:08:21 |
1 |
Jonathan Milan Lidl - Trek |
182 pt |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates - XRG |
156 pt |
3 |
Biniam Girmay Hailu Intermarché - Wanty |
124 pt |
4 |
Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin - Deceuninck |
108 pt |
5 |
Anthony Turgis Team TotalEnergies |
93 pt |
6 |
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step |
89 pt |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
80 pt |
8 |
Kaden Groves Alpecin - Deceuninck |
60 pt |
9 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step |
56 pt |
10 |
Oscar Onley Team Picnic PostNL |
56 pt |
93 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step |
2 pt |
1 |
Tim Wellens UAE Team Emirates - XRG |
8 pt |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates - XRG |
7 pt |
3 |
Ben Healy EF Education - EasyPost |
4 pt |
4 |
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
4 pt |
5 |
Ewen Costiou |
3 pt |
6 |
Michael Storer Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
3 pt |
7 |
Quinn Simmons Lidl - Trek |
2 pt |
8 |
Lenny Martinez Bahrain - Victorious |
2 pt |
9 |
Benjamin Thomas Cofidis |
2 pt |
10 |
Kévin Vauquelin |
1 pt |
1 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step |
29:49:24 |
2 |
Kévin Vauquelin |
0:17 |
3 |
Oscar Onley Team Picnic PostNL |
1:55 |
4 |
Florian Lipowitz Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
2:08 |
5 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Lidl - Trek |
2:49 |
6 |
Ben Healy EF Education - EasyPost |
3:01 |
7 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
3:57 |
8 |
Romain Grégoire Groupama - FDJ |
9:58 |
9 |
Jenno Berckmoes Lotto |
10:29 |
10 |
Axel Laurance INEOS Grenadiers |
18:44 |
12 |
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step |
22:09 |
24 |
Valentin Paret-Peintre
Soudal Quick-Step |
45:14 |
1 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 89:29:39 |
2 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | 5:33 |
3 | Groupama - FDJ | 13:24 |
4 | Array | 14:34 |
5 | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 16:54 |
6 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | 20:53 |
7 | INEOS Grenadiers | 23:59 |
8 | EF Education - EasyPost | 26:16 |
9 | Team TotalEnergies | 28:23 |
10 | Team Picnic PostNL | 28:37 |