Sixth victory of the season for the 33-year-old, who leads the Belgium Tour general classification.
You say Knokke-Heist, you say Tim Merlier. Soudal Quick-Step’s fast man made it a hat-trick of wins in the coastal town at the Belgium Tour, after another trademark sprint, and took his remarkable tally in the pro ranks to 72 victories.
Stage two was a straightforward one: a four-man breakaway animated things before being reeled in by the peloton, where Soudal Quick-Step worked the entire day to make sure it would come down to a bunch sprint. After being launched by Bert Van Lerberghe, Merlier opened up his acceleration with 150 meters to go, and once again didn’t give any chance to his opponents on the uphill drag to the line, winning comfortably.
Today’s victory was the result of a fantastic team effort, as we were all motivated after yesterday.
“The entire squad worked well today, chased down the escapees and brought me in a good position going under the flamme rouge. A few riders passed me in the last corner, but I stayed calm, because I knew timing would be key there. When I launched my sprint, I just kept going and I’m glad I could bring it home for the team.”
“I’m happy with this win and with having the leader’s jersey. It’s my third consecutive success in Knokke-Heist, so it seems the sea air is good for me”, said Tim after bonification seconds put him at the top of the overall standings. “On Friday it will be an important day for the general classification and I’ll try to help the guys as much as possible, and hopefully, we’ll get another good result.”
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
