"I am very proud to finish this season with a victory for Specialized" - Tim Merlier gives a special farewell to Soudal's bike supplier
Cycling
Tim Merlier was once again in a league of his own on the final race day of the season. Despite a difficult position, the Belgian speedster surged past Dylan Groenewegen towards his 14th victory of 2026. Part of his celebration at the finish line, Merlier kindly tapped his bicycle, as if to say goodbye - Specialized will not be Soudal - Quick-Step's (known as Soudal Safety Jogger next year) bike supplier anymore.
To Merlier, the bond to his bicycle was especially dear as it kept him company through the past four seasons during which time he had claimed multiple great victories.
"I think it is my 80th professional victory. I don't know how many I have achieved on a Specialized (57), but since I started riding this brand of bikes, I have achieved many victories," Merlier said after the finish.
That four-year period featured 23 World Tour victories, including five stage wins at Tour de France, three at Giro d'Italia, and a 2023 European title.
Merida to replace Specialized in 2027
Although nothing's been made official yet at this point in time, the word is out in the peloton that Specialized will end its 15 years long parternship with the Belgian outfit. The two parties joined forces in 2012, and have enjoyed incredible success over that period.
But since 2017, Specialized also stood behind Peter Sagan success at BORA - hansgrohe. And even though the Slovakian star has long left the structure, the current Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe project has earned Specialized's main focus. Alongside its very successful mountain bike factory team.
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As for Soudal Safety Jogger, its riders should be seen sporting Merida bicycles from 2027 onwards. The Taiwan-based company has its own rich history in road cycling, having previously made a name for itself a title co-sponsor of Lampre-Merida and Bahrain-Merida over the second half of previous decade. But since it parted ways with the Bahraini team at the end of previous season, it's models have disappeared from the professional peloton. 2027 should then be a comeback year.
For Soudal's riders, it's in any case a farewell and they'll be tasked to adapt to new equipment over the course of next winter. "I am very proud that I can also finish this season with a victory for Specialized," Merlier concluded.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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