“Maybe I'm too nice, but I don't want to kill anyone" - Tim Merlier hits out at Jasper Philipsen after contact in Classic Brugge-De Panne final
CyclingWednesday, 20 March 2024 at 22:00
Tim Merlier narrowly missed out on victory at Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024 to his compatriot Jasper Philipsen. That's not quite the whole story however, due to some late controversy.
In the final few hundred metres, a boxed-in Philipsen made contact with Merlier as the eventual winner attempted to barge his way into open road and begin his sprint. “When I want to start my sprint, I get a push from behind,” Merlier describes the incident in his post-race interview.
“I sat with my wheel to the left of Danny van Poppel, so I had no room left. That's why I stuck with it. If I push through there, Jasper will go over the guardrail and I would have been the guilty one. That meant I couldn't do my sprint... But yes, sprinting is a risk,” Merlier continues. “At first I didn't even know it was Jasper. It was mainly disappointment. Maybe I'm too nice, but I don't want to kill anyone either."
Nevertheless, a second-place finish is another good result for the Soudal - Quick-Step sprinter. “It was a hectic finish, so sprinting is not easy,” he concludes. “Positioning is always very important, but without wind there is no spectacle. Despite that, it was still quite stressful.”
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Latest comments
- "North American"adammyerson22-05-2025
- The more statements that came out from his mouth, the more I'm impressed with how he carries himself.
KerisVroom22-05-2025 - What has it to do with us. It's between him and his employer. The crap about him having plenty money is irrelevant.Sabino22-05-2025
- lol, he knows how not to get into trouble with his teammates.KerisVroom22-05-2025
- They use English as their common language but it doesn't mean they speak it well. I hope this kid gets a chance to go for it, he too could win.awp22-05-2025
- I don't mind seeing Froome in the peloton, but he's a multimillionaire, he shouldn't take money that could give a few young guys, maybe more, a spot on a pro team. If he wants to ride it should be for no salary or much less. I say this without really knowing what he is making now but I assume it's decent amount.awp22-05-2025
- Don't forget the roster is weak compared to the Tadej and Jonas show, Carapaz has won the Giro before back in 2019. He was the only guy who could match Tadej and Jonas in the mountains in the 2021 Tour. He could take this race.awp22-05-2025
- That does seem to be an ever more common motivation for sudden performance ;-)Mistermaumau22-05-2025
- He actually said it with gloves onMistermaumau22-05-2025
- I hope so. Or was it just to show that he is still worth another good contract?Cyclingsbestfan22-05-2025
Nowt like a bit of respect 😉 all costs aren't worth going to!
There was some contact between the two of them in the sprint, but Jasper did nothing wrong. It was, as they say, a racing incident, and nothing more.
Exactly, nobody did anything on purpose or bad, it was the combination of three simultaneous individual actions that created the danger, not anyone individually.