Tim Merlier takes sprinters' stage seven into Bordeaux at Tour de France after unstoppable pace
Soudal Quick Step returned to winning ways at the Tour with Merlier who was by far the quickest rider on the day.
Belgian Tim Merlier took his fourth Tour de France career stage win in Bordeaux on Friday after an unmatched sprint alongside the Garonne river on stage seven.
The Soudal Quick-Step rider timed his effort to perfection, leaving it late to make his move into a headwind.
It had looked as though Alpecin-Premier Tech were in control of the sprint, as Matthieu van der Poel hit the front with around 600 metres to go. 100 metres later and he started his sprint but this proved too early. As his sprinter Jasper Philipsen was forced to open his sprint, Merlier was still sitting in fifth wheel, behind Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling) and Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural).
Van der Poel swung off with 250 metres to go, leaving Philipsen sprinting into a headwind. Merlier didn't make his move until 150 metres to go, coming out of the slipstream and surging past his rivals.
"Perfectly? I don’t know. It was a mess to get in position but I made it thanks to the team," he said post-race.
"For a long time I was following Jasper but I lost him..." he continued. "Then I got a bit more space and some time to give the legs a bit of air, then in the last 600 metres it was boxing again. I thought to myself ‘are we going to fight to the finish?’ I’m happy I could take it.
"In every participation I take a win, so I can be proud."
Two riders were given their freedom today, a sure sign that the sprinter's teams were determined to stay in control on the roads through the Landes and Gironde regions. Jakob Otruba (Caja Rural) and Baptiste Veistroffer (Intermarché Lotto) were given a maximum lead of one minute 38 seconds as Alpecin Premier tech and Soudal - Quick Step marshalled the front of the peloton, with occasional help from Decathlon CMA CGM. The French team might be more focused on Paul Seixas's GC ambitions, but following Olav Kooij's win on stage five into Pau means they had to show willing.
The pair worked well together but after one last dig from Veistroffer, sat up and shook hands with 20km to go. They always knew they wouldn't survive to the finish, but acknowledged their hard work after what was another hot day in the saddle.
From there the peloton took a few more kilometres to pick up the speed as thing started to get nervy. Coming into Bordeaux the likes of Alpecin, Soudal and Cofidis sent their trains to the front. But it was Netcompany Ineos that lead into the city as the road narrowed, thinking of their sprinter Dorian Gordon.
Everyone made it safely to the three kilometres to go point and from there most of the peloton could relax and leave the action to unfold in the arrowhead of around 40 riders at the front.
Stage 7, Hagetmau > Bordeaux, 175.1km
1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 3:44:20
2. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
3. Biniam Girmay (Eri) NSN Cycling
4. Max Kanter (Ger) XDS Astana
5. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech
6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
7. Huub Artz (Ned) Lotto Intermarché
8. Dorian Godon (Fra) Netcompany Ineos
9. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
10. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) NSN Cycling, all at same time
Tour de France 2026 general classification after stage six
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 24:56:17
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:42
3. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +3:27
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Redu Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +3:30
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +3:34
6. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, +3:55
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:00
8. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, +4:21
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek,+4:57
10. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +7:10
