The sprinters’ teams were forced to burn through their entire reserve of engines to save Stage 8 of the Tour de France, but Tim Merlier ensured the investment paid out in pure gold. Over a 180.4-kilometer run from Périgueux to Bergerac, the Soudal Quick-Step fast man delivered a devastating repetition of yesterday’s performance, striking from the wheels to capture his second victory in two days.
The day looked like a traditional transition procession on paper, carrying just 1,150 meters of total vertical elevation. However, Lotto Intermarché’s Liam Slock inverted the script, launching a solo raid that kept the chasing peloton at maximum threshold until the final 1,500 meters. Slock originally formed a three-man breakaway with Jakub Otruba and Thibault Guernalec, but eventually shook them off to go completely solo with 40 kilometers remaining. Despite an organized chase from Soudal Quick-Step, Alpecin-Premier Tech, and NSN, the Belgian baroudeur still held a minute’s advantage entering the final ten kilometers, threatening a complete upset.
The catch was finally executed 1.5 kilometers from the line, triggering an absolute drag race into Bergerac. XDS Astana led the peloton into the final kilometer before Mathieu van der Poel hit the front with Jasper Philipsen on his wheel. Philipsen opened his effort early, but he lacked the finishing punch to answer the late chargers. Olav Kooij and Merlier flew past the green jersey hopeful with 200 meters to go, with Merlier carrying enough raw momentum to hold off a fast-closing Biniam Girmay on the line.
Kooij rounded out the podium in third, while a fading Philipsen had to settle for fourth. Merlier’s masterclass makes him the first sprinter to lock down consecutive Tour stages since Philipsen did it in 2023, bringing his career tally to five Tour victories. Further back, Tadej Pogačar avoided the late-stage positioning traps to safely defend his 2-minute-and-38-second lead in the Maillot Jaune, keeping his cushion intact ahead of tomorrow’s hilly trek into Corrèze.
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