"Am I the best sprinter in the world? That's not for me to say" - Tim Merlier takes 5th win of 2025 already on stage 1 of Paris-Nice
Cycling
Tim Merlier was the pre-stage favourite to take victory on the opening day of Paris-Nice 2025. Those predictions proved incredibly correct on Sunday afternoon too as the Belgian leader of Soudal - Quick-Step stormed to a dominant win in the bunch sprint in Le Perray-en-Yvelines.
"It's really nice to start like this," reflected the European champion with a beaming smile on his face when speaking to the media in his post-stage interview afterwards. "Another victory in Paris-Nice, and I'm very proud of that."
Despite some accelerations in the bunch on the final two climbs of the day, Merlier remained relatively well positioned, before timing his final sprint to perfection to see off Arnaud Demare and Alberto Dainese among others. “With about seventy kilometres to go, the peloton got very nervous. Afterwards, there were a few attacks on the hills, but after that we organized it well. We stayed well at the front and I got the perfect lead-put in the last kilometre,” analyses the first Maillot Jaune of Paris-Nice 2025 in conclusion. "Am I the best sprinter in the world? That's not for me to say, you have to decide that. I just try to do my best and win as much as possible."
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Aside from a small moment where the gap to the barriers was getting smaller and smaller - that was a fairly expected and well-delivered sprint from Tim Merlier#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/Ah4V3TG4xO
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) March 9, 2025
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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