"It was the hardest victory so far!" - Tim Merlier seals third Grand Tour stage win of his career in frantic finale to stage 3
Cycling
For the third time in his career, Soudal - Quick-Step's Tim Merlier sprinted to a Grand Tour stage win on stage 3 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, surviving a late scare and a frantic finale in the process.
"It was the hardest victory so far!" admitted the 31-year-old Belgian, who's previously won stages at the 2021 Giro d'Italia and the 2021 Tour de France, in his post-stage interview. "It was a really hard final, in the last kilometre I never found a good slipstream, so I was always in the wind."
After missing out on selection for Soudal - Quick-Step at each of the three Grand Tour last year, Merlier will feel vindicated by this latest triumph, one that tastes even sweeter given the immense level of sprint competition at the 2024 Giro d'Italia.
"In the last 300m I heard ‘you need to go’, also Milan was starting his sprint on the left side, I knew I was gonna be first or second," Merlier concludes, having edged out last year's Maglia Ciclamino and Biniam Girmay in the finale. "I’m happy to win this one."
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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- maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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🚴🇮🇹 | Dankzij Pogacar wordt het een knotsgekke finale, maar we krijgen toch 'gewoon' een massasprint. Merlier klopt Milan en zegeviert! 🙌🇧🇪 #Giroditalia 📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+
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