"Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix are out of the question" - Tim Merlier set for comeback after injury nightmare

Tim Merlier’s long rehabilitation is finally nearing its end, with the Soudal - Quick-Step sprinter set to make his season debut this weekend at the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré on Sunday, March 22. The Belgian has yet to pin on a race number in 2026, after months on the sidelines due to a knee problem that left him unable to train properly and without a clear diagnosis for a long time.

The 33-year-old spoke to Het Laatste Nieuws about the difficult road back and the slow build-up towards his return to competition. “I’ve only been training again for four weeks. It was only last week, at our training camp in Spain, my fourth camp ahead of this season, but the first one where I didn’t have to fly home early, that I managed to ride five hours in one go for the first time. That hadn’t happened since September 6.”

Despite finally being able to train normally again, Merlier admits he is approaching his comeback with uncertainty and even a degree of anxiety after such a long period without racing. “With a bit of fear, though. I lie awake at night wondering whether I’ll even be able to hold on. There’s even a bit of performance anxiety. I’m carrying a conditioning deficit. Basically, I’m an experiment.”

The Belgian endured months of frustration while dealing with knee pain that doctors struggled to explain, leaving him unsure about his own condition and worried that others might start to doubt him as well.

“After a while, I also started doubting myself. In my head, I began to fear that the people around me, or those in the team, would stop believing me because the symptoms were atypical and there was so little to actually see. At the first team camp I even joined the sign sprints out of pure frustration and won them, but it was the actual pedalling motion that caused pain. I could ride a bit, but you couldn’t really call it training.”

His return at GP Monseré marks the end of a long recovery process, and the choice of race was deliberate, with Merlier looking for the least demanding option available at this point in the season.

“Next week you have Classic Brugge-De Panne, but that’s not a race where you can just roll around for fun. At this point in the season, GP Monseré is the least demanding race, and they’re forecasting nice weather. Coppi e Bartali was an alternative, but I’d rather do a one-day race than immediately start with a week in which every stage has 2,000 metres of climbing.”

Merlier insists he is not returning with any expectations of immediate results, instead focusing on regaining race rhythm and confidence after months without competition. Even if the race ends in a bunch sprint, he does not expect to be fighting for victory.

“I want to finish the race and try to position myself in the finale, but really standing out in the sprint? That seems unthinkable to me. I see this as a little test and as a chance to enjoy racing again, even though I know I’m going to suffer enormously.”

Asked jokingly what would happen if he came back and immediately won, the Belgian responded with humour, while also pointing out how limited his preparation has been compared to previous seasons. “Then I’m a medical miracle, and people in the peloton are training far too much,” he laughed.

“Somehow I carry the label that Merlier is always good very quickly at the start of the season. But that’s with three to four months of training in my legs. This time I was only able to start training in mid-February, once the knee pain was finally gone.”

Next weekend brings Gent-Wevelgem, where Merlier finished second in the 2025 edition, but the Soudal - Quick-Step sprinter warned that expectations should remain low for the upcoming Classics, and even ruled out one of the biggest races on the calendar.

“Of course it’s somewhere in the back of my mind, but I have to be realistic: it’s not happening. Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix are out of the question. I also don’t want to compromise the rest of my season. The main goals are the Belgian Championships and making the Tour de France squad. If all goes well, I’ll also ride the Tour of Hungary and the Tour of Belgium before that, so that I can hopefully be in top shape by the end of June.”