Merlier makes it back-to-back Tour wins
Belgium's Tim Merlier claimed his second consecutive stage victory at the Tour de France, winning stage eight in Bergerac in a bunch sprint on Saturday. The Soudal Quick-Step rider had also taken stage seven the previous day, and the double success caps a strong Tour for the 33-year-old, who now has five career stage wins in the race. His victory came despite being poorly positioned at the finish, from where he launched a late long-range charge to overhaul his rivals.
Merlier hit the front inside the final 200 metres to hold off Eritrea's Biniam Girmay, with Dutch rider Olav Kooij third, and the win moved him to within 15 points of Mads Pedersen in the green jersey standings. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey after the flat 180.4km stage from Perigueux to Bergerac, leading Jonas Vingegaard by 2 minutes 42 seconds overall. Organisers have shortened Sunday's ninth stage from Malemort to Ussel — from 185.5km to 155.5km — because of an intense heatwave in the Correze region.
In short
- Merlier wins back-to-back Tour stages with a late sprint charge in Bergerac.
- It is his fifth career Tour stage victory, beating Girmay and Kooij.
- Pogacar keeps yellow; stage nine shortened due to a heatwave.
Explained simply
The Tour de France is an annual cycling race that takes place over about three weeks, divided into around 21 stages. Each stage is a daily section covering a set distance, and the cyclist who completes all stages in the shortest time wins overall. The race attracts the world's top cyclists and is one of sport's most prestigious competitions.
Certain stages end with a bunch sprint, where the main group of cyclists stay together until the finish line and victory goes to the fastest rider. Sprinters are cyclists who specialise in these fast finishes, training to have explosive speed over short distances. Tim Merlier is a Belgian sprinter competing for the Soudal Quick-Step team.
The Tour uses coloured jerseys to track different competitions within the race. The yellow jersey marks the cyclist leading the overall race, whilst the green jersey recognises the best sprinter. Merlier's stage victories are significant because they earn points towards the sprinter classification, though the main prize goes to whoever has the fastest overall time.