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.
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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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