Tim Merlier wins sprint on Tour de France stage 12 in Chalon-sur-Saône
Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier claimed his third stage victory of the Tour de France, edging out Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen in a fast finish at Chalon-sur-Saône, while the race's main classifications remained unchanged.
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) secured his third stage win of the Tour de France on the flat 179.1km route to Chalon-sur-Saône, out-sprinting a lead group that included Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Merlier launched his sprint from Milan Fretin’s (Cofidis) wheel with about 200 metres to go, passing both riders to take the line first, while Kooij finished second and Philipsen third.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) led the points classification before the stage and finished ninth, maintaining his green-jersey lead with 357 points, ahead of Biniam Girmay (NSN) and Philipsen. The overall race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) retained the yellow jersey and the polka-dot jersey, and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) stayed in the white jersey.
"[My son] is still young but maybe he will remember it, and he can watch it later," Merlier said after the win, adding that the victory was special because his family was present.
The stage featured several early attacks, including a breakaway formed by Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché) that was later joined by Damiano Caruso, Mattéo Vercher and Ewen Costiou. The break was caught with about 62km remaining, and the peloton stayed together for the final sprint. Lead-out efforts were coordinated by Jasper Stuyven, who helped keep the pace steady despite a puncture earlier in the day.
No changes occurred in the Tour’s main classifications after the stage, and the race will move on to the next day’s itinerary.