Dominant Tim Merlier storms into Maillot Jaune with stage 1 Paris-Nice win

Soudal - Quick-Step's European champion Tim Merlier has sprinted to the win on the opening stage of Paris-Nice 2025, moving into the first Maillot Jaune of the race as a result.

The trio of Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché - Wanty), Alexandre Delettre (Team TotalEnergies) and Samuel Fernández (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) all got themselves up the road and into the breakaway. The hopes of the attack never look good though, and with just over 60km to go, Delettre already attempted to drop his companions and go ahead solo. Although Fernandez joined him soon after, all of the break had been swallowed up just inside the final 50km.

With the Côte de Villiers-Saint-Frédéric one of two climbs giving the peloton the potential to jettison the sprinters in the final 25km, Julian Alaphilippe made a big acceleration, fighting for King of the Mountains points at the top with Matteo Jorgenson. Although there were no major splits caused in the peloton, the racing was reignited at the front. On the flat after the climb, Kasper Asgreen also attempted a move but similarly couldn't break free.

As things calmed down slightly inside the final 15km, any sprinters who had been dropped, most notably Uno-X Mobility's Alexander Kristoff, were able to re-attach with the peloton. With bonus seconds on offer atop Les Mesnuls though, the racing was brought to life once again by Santiago Buitrago on the final climb of the day. By the top of the climb though it was Jhonatan Narvaez who edged out Jorgenson for the bonus seconds.

There was no calming down after the climb this time either. A number of riders attempted flying attacks in the immediate aftermath, including a very interesting one that involved Mattias Skjelmose, Matteo Trentin and Joshua Tarling that got a small gap. At 2.3km to go though, they too had been caught, with focus finally turning fully towards the upcoming bunch sprint. In the fight for the line, European champion Tim Merlier was a dominant winner as Arnaud Demare took second in a crowded finish behind.