Fourth consecutive day a Soudal Quick-Step rider finishes in the top ten.
Tuesday afternoon, the peloton waved goodbye to Piemonte and made its way to Liguria. The home region of Fausto Coppi – one of the greatest cyclists in the world, winner of seven Grand Tours, the World Championships and multiple Monuments – awaited the riders with a finish resembling that of Milano-Sanremo, which made things spicier.
Wearing the coveted maglia ciclamino, which he received following his victory in Fossano – our team’s 120th Grand Tour stage success – Tim Merlier was eyeing another good result, this time in the picturesque town of Andora, where the day concluded. As expected, the short climb of Capo Mele was used as a launch pad by some riders who were determined to avoid a bunch sprint. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) zipped away there, opening a seven-second gap by the time he crested the top.
Behind him, various teams chased hard and brought back the Italian, but this together with the fast finish made for a hectic mass gallop. Merlier was forced to make a big effort and start his sprint from way back, and the Belgian came close to repeating Monday’s win thanks to his massive acceleration. Unfortunately, Tim ran out of steam in the last 100 meters, but even in these conditions he took fifth on the line – a result that keeps him in contention for the points classification.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
