Tour de France: Tim Merlier wins sprint skirmish on stage 12 ahead of major pileup
Cyclingnews • • sports
Key Points:
- Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) won the sprint finish in Chalon-sur-Saône, marking his third Tour de France stage victory this year, despite likely missing out on the green jersey to Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
- Merlier executed a strong final sprint, overtaking Milan Fretin and Jasper Philipsen, with Olav Kooij and Biniam Girmay also finishing close behind.
- The 179.1km stage featured several breakaway attempts and a trio of fourth-category climbs, with Baptiste Veistroffer making a notable solo effort before being caught.
- Mads Pedersen maintains the green jersey with 357 points, followed by Girmay and Philipsen, while Tadej Pogačar retains the yellow and polka dot jerseys, and Juan Ayuso holds the white jersey.
- The stage was marked by tactical team efforts to control the peloton and set up the sprint, with some crashes affecting riders like Fernando Gaviria before the final dash to the line.
