Seventh victory of the season for Soudal Quick-Step after one of the most dominant sprints in recent years.
Tim Merlier showed there’s a reason why he is the best sprinter in the world, making it back-to-back stage victories at the UAE Tour on the penultimate day of the race with a sublime sprint in Abu Dhabi, where he won for the third year in a row.
It was another hectic mass gallop at the World Tour race, and the 32-year-old Belgian came from a different post code in the final part of Saturday’s stage, launching his sprint in the headwind an incredible 300 meters from the line, a stunning move that caught everyone else off-guard. Victorious twenty-four hours ago in Dubai, Merlier showed a blistering speed on his way to his fifth victory as reigning European Champion, putting several bike lengths between him and the other riders who finished on the podium.
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“It’s my third success here in Abu Dhabi and it makes me happy. The guys controlled the breakaway and brought me in a great position with two kilometers to go. I was on Bert’s wheel, but we lost each other, and then I was boxed in the whole time. Fortunately, I found a gap at 300 meters to go and I tried to surprise the others. As soon as I had a small advantage, I just kept going and despite it being a long effort, I maintained the speed until the finish.”
“It’s an important win, because every time you get an opportunity and grab it, it counts. As I said before, I like this race a lot and I already look forward to returning here. We have one more stage, but overall, it’s been a good week for us and I’ll leave with a lot of confidence from the Middle East”, added Tim, who so far this season has won a pair of stages at both AlUla Tour and UAE Tour.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
