The capital of Aquitaine has a habit of rewarding the truest (and most Belgian) sprinters, and Stage 7 of the Tour de France upheld that tradition. Over a mostly flat 175-kilometer transition from Hagetmau, Tim Merlier captured his fourth career Tour stage win. The Soudal Quick-Step fast man dropped a massive surge inside the final 200 meters, neatly writing his name into Bordeaux’s rich history of sprinting lore.
The day was structurally tailored for the sprint squads from the gun. Stripped of former race leader Torstein Træen, who failed to start after his crash yesterday, the peloton rolled out with just 850 meters of total vertical elevation on the menu. Lotto Intermarché’s Baptiste Veistroffer went on a lonely flyer alongside Jake Otruba, but the sprinters’ teams kept the move on a leash. Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin-Premier Tech anchored the front of the bunch, shutting down a flurry of counter-attacks from Uno-X Mobility and keeping the gap safely under two minutes.
The breakaway was reeled in with 18 kilometers left to ride, sparking a frantic, high-speed setup along the Garonne River. Alpecin-Premier Tech seized control into the final kilometer, laying out the red carpet for Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian opened his sprint from the front with 200 meters to go, looking to replicate his 2023 victory here. But Merlier timed his acceleration perfectly, blowing straight past him on the barriers.
Merlier comfortably took the line ahead of Soren Waerenskjold and Biniam Girmay, while a fading Philipsen was forced to settle for fifth. The result marks Belgium’s 24th historic victory in Bordeaux and crucially extends the Wolfpack’s unbroken streak of winning at least one stage in every single edition of the Tour since 2013. Further down the road, Tadej Pogačar safely negotiated the urban furniture to finish safely in the bunch, preserving his 2-minute-and-38-second cushion in the Maillot Jaune ahead of tomorrow’s flat sprint rerun to Bergerac.
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