The two-time Belgian Champion scored our team’s 73rd success in the Middle East.
Tim Merlier once again stomped his sprinting authority at the AlUla Tour, powering like a locomotive in the closing 300 meters of the penultimate stage to make it back-to-back victories and move into the leader’s jersey, on top of that getting also the red one, rewarding the best rider in the points classification.
“I’m happy with my second win of the week, it’s a great way to start the season! Having two jerseys is a nice bonus, but it’s not the only thing that makes me happy. Seeing the boys work so hard for me and do such an excellent job the entire day was incredible and I am delighted I could repay them with another victory.”
The stage between Hegra and Maraya was flat and a bit more quiet than Thursday’s one, no crosswinds bothering the peloton this time, but there was a catch: a 600m section averaging 4% in the final kilometer, with some roads kicking up at 7% that brought into contention not only the sprinters, but also those carrying some punch and able to navigate a technical finish, consisting of several turns that could easily derail the lead-out trains.
It wasn’t the case for the Soudal Quick-Step boys, who rode flawlessly, both Jordi Warlop and Bert Van Lerberghe playing an important role in the outcome. As soon as the latter peeled off the front, Tim decided to start his sprint with more than 300 meters to go, impressing with the power unleashed on the hard gradients and his ability to hold off a late charge of Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), who came runner-up.
“It was a hard finish. I decided to go from the distance because I felt really good and had a lot of confidence in myself on that uphill drag to the line. It’s been a good race for us so far, but we have one more stage here and we’ll focus on that one and on doing our best to support our young teammate William Lecerf”, added Merlier after the 36th win of his career.
Photo credit: ©Alex Broadway / Getty Images
