Belgium’s Tim Merlier survived a chaotic sprint to clinch stage 12 and secure his third win at this year’s Tour de France, Yankee Scores reports.
While Merlier outstripped compatriot Jasper Philipsen, he was able to stay clear of the incident that occurred when Colombian rider Fernando Gaviria fell during the race and dragged several other riders with him.
Philipsen, who placed third, was looking very good coming into the last few kilometers of the race on a day where many teams had tried their hand at a breakaway but could not achieve anything solid.
This stage win means that Merlier has now taken his total number of wins to six following his victories in stages seven and eight in this year’s race, per BBC Sport.
“Today I was really focused on the guys who were boxed in yesterday,” Merlier said. “I found some space and I launched.”
In addition, winning “was special” because his wife and baby son could watch him. “I’m still young but maybe he’s going to remember this one.”
As expected, Thursday’s leg from Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saone turned out to be very tricky and quite exciting due to rain and wind which disturbed all calculations during the race.
At the moment, Tadej Pogacar holds the leading position with regard to yellow jersey. In particular, he leads by 3mins 36secs Jonas Vingegaard.
However, it seems that green jersey will not be captured by Merlier since he holds fourth place at the moment. Although Mads Pedersen lost some positions, he leads Biniam Girmay from Eritrea by 40 points.
