Milan, 16 July (LaPresse) – Tim Merlier has once again proved himself the king of the sprinters at the Tour de France. The Belgian sprinter from Soudal Quick-Step also won the sprint finish on the 12th stage of the Grand Boucle, the 179.1 km Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours-Chalon-sur-Saône. In a frantic sprint finish, preceded by a nasty mass crash just a few metres from the finish line, Merlier once again pipped the Dutchman Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and fellow Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Eritrean Biniam Girmay (NSN) finished fourth. For Merlier, this is his third victory in this edition of the Tour, and his sixth career win overall. The general classification remains unchanged, with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) still in the yellow jersey, ahead of Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma Lease a Bike) by +3’36’’ and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by +4’06’’. Tomorrow’s 13th stage, from Dole to Belfort, covers 205.8 km and is a medium-mountain route well-suited to breakaways.
Tour de France: Merlier wins stage 12 as well, Pogacar retains the yellow jersey
Milan, 16 July (LaPresse) – Tim Merlier has once again proved himself the king of the sprinters at the Tour de France. The Belgian sprinter from Soudal Quick-Step also won the sprint finish on the 12th stage of the Grand Boucle, the 179.1 km Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours-Chalon-sur-Saône. In a frantic sprint finish, preceded by a nasty mass crash just a few metres from the finish line, Merlier once again pipped the Dutchman Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and fellow Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Eritrean Biniam Girmay (NSN) finished fourth. For Merlier, this is his third victory in this edition of the Tour, and his sixth career win overall. The general classification remains unchanged, with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) still in the yellow jersey, ahead of Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma Lease a Bike) by +3’36’’ and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by +4’06’’. Tomorrow’s 13th stage, from Dole to Belfort, covers 205.8 km and is a medium-mountain route well-suited to breakaways.
