Belgian cyclist Tim Merlier secured victory in the Tour de France’s seventh stage on Friday, finishing in a sprint after a 175-kilometer ride from Hagetmau to Bordeaux. The stage concluded in hot conditions, with temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius in Bordeaux. Merlier outpaced his rivals in the final moments, overtaking fellow Belgian Jasper Philipsen and Eritrean Biniam Girmay to claim the win. Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold finished second, while Philipsen placed fifth behind German rider Max Kanter in fourth. Dane Mads Pedersen maintained his lead in the sprinters’ green jersey competition after finishing eighth.
The day’s racing saw limited action in terms of breakaways, with teams preferring to control the peloton for a sprint finish. French rider Baptiste Veistroffer made a notable effort by escaping from the peloton alongside Czech rider Jakub Otruba, but their lead never extended beyond a minute and a half. Both riders were caught with about 18 kilometers left in the stage, marking Veistroffer’s cumulative 300 kilometers spent in breakaways over the past three days. Attempts by the Uno-X Mobility team to break free, including several attacks by Torstein Traeen before his withdrawal due to a crash on Thursday, were unsuccessful, setting the stage for the bunch sprint.
Merlier’s victory marked his fifth Tour de France stage win in his third appearance in the race. He executed a well-timed sprint, demonstrating strong acceleration in the closing meters. Despite being boxed in briefly and almost caught in a crash near the final corner, he managed to power through to the finish line. This win brought him closer to Pedersen in the competition for the green jersey, trailing by 15 points.
The following day, Merlier continued his strong form by winning the eighth stage in a similar bunch sprint, again proving difficult to beat in the final stretch. The stage, held in the Dordogne region, featured several breakaway attempts, including an extended solo escape by Belgian Liam Slock, who was caught just 1.3 kilometers from the finish. Slock had earlier been part of a three-man breakaway along with Czech Jakob Obruba and Frenchman Thibault Guernalec. Despite their efforts, sprinters' teams controlled the pace, culminating in another fast and competitive sprint finish.
Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey after the seventh stage, maintaining his overall lead in the race. The competition remains closely contested, with several sprinters and general classification contenders vying for key positions as the Tour progresses.