Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) powered to a second straight Tour de France stage victory on stage 8, unleashing a furious late sprint into Bergerac to beat Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM). The 180km day looked set for a conventional bunch finish, but it turned tense late on as breakaway rider Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché) held on deep into the finale before being caught just 1.3km from the line.
Merlier, who won stage 7, had to launch from behind in the final run-in, coming from seventh wheel. Once he opened up his sprint, his speed proved decisive, with Girmay finishing second by half a bike length and Kooij taking third. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) again missed the top three, finishing fourth.
In the general classification, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) remained in the yellow jersey, leading the race by 2:42 as the Tour headed toward Monday’s rest day, with stage 9 described as a breakaway-friendly day in the hills of the Massif Central.
How stage 8 unfolded: early break, late chase, last-gasp catch
With the route billed as flat and sprinter-friendly, the day began with limited appetite for a large break. After less than 10km, a three-man move formed featuring Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché), Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies) and Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA). The peloton, with sprint teams mindful of the expected finish, kept the gap under control, with the advantage only stretching to around two minutes after 50km.
The stage remained calm through the middle, as the break worked smoothly but never escaped the bunch’s grip on a warm day in southwest France. Over the Côte de Domme, Slock took the single King of the Mountains point on offer, a moment that did not threaten Pogačar’s position in that classification.
The intermediate sprint brought a sharper edge. Otruba and Slock contested the points and prize money, with the Caja Rural rider narrowly beating Slock to the line as Guernalec took third. Behind them, Jasper Philipsen edged Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) for the maximum points available to the peloton, with the top 15 across the line adding to their totals.
With 50km remaining, the break still held around two minutes, but the pace began to rise. On the second climb, Otruba and Slock dropped Guernalec as they fought for points again, with Slock taking the point and then pushing on solo.
There was also a brief surge in the bunch as EF Education-EasyPost used the climb to lift the tempo, with Kasper Asgreen launching and drawing out a group that included Mathieu van der Poel, Ilan Van Wilder and Jonas Abrahamsen. The split was soon closed, but the acceleration increased the pressure on the now-fragmented break.
Slock entered the final 30km with a 1:30 advantage and continued to look strong even as sprint teams moved into chase mode. Despite efforts from NSN, Alpecin and Soudal-QuickStep, the gap remained stubborn: 1:20 inside 20km, and still a minute with 10km to go. Some teams hesitated to fully commit, trying to preserve riders for a sprint, but the risk grew as it became less certain there would be a bunch finish at all.
Inside the final 5km, Slock still had 28 seconds, but the peloton’s speed rose sharply. At 3km to go the gap was 10 seconds, and once Slock looked back and saw the bunch closing, the move finally ended. He was swallowed up with 1.3km remaining, setting the stage for the sprint.
Final sprint and results: Merlier’s speed decides stage 8
With the break caught, positioning through the final turns proved crucial. XDS Astana led into the last corner for Max Kanter, while Alpecin’s Mathieu van der Poel then opened up a strong lead-out for Philipsen, creating separation and leaving Merlier initially out of position.
Merlier had to respond from several wheels back, launching from seventh wheel and coming from behind Philipsen and Kooij. Even after a moment where he was boxed in near the corner, Merlier carried his speed through the final 250 metres and held it to the line. Girmay followed Merlier’s wheel and closed quickly, but had to settle for second.
Merlier’s stage-winning time was 03:52:50. The top five on the day were Merlier, Girmay, Kooij, Philipsen and Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL).
Merlier also boosted his points position, moving up to second in the green jersey standings, 15 points behind leader Mads Pedersen, with more points opportunities expected as the race moved into hillier terrain on stage 9.