A frustrating second place for @MerlierTim in #ClassicBruggeDePanne, despite him having the legs to take the victory.
“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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- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- I doubt he will have the energy to do that if he continues to do leadout for Phillipsenabstractengineer22-12-2024
- I know several people who’ve tried contacting sport airbag manufacturers and none of them ever got a reply. Might be hard to organise anything with such attitudes.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- It's the BBC. Who cares outside of little Britain.leodis22-12-2024
- Crawl back under your stone.leodis22-12-2024
- Thanks Dadmobk22-12-2024
- Hard to believe with the advancment of modern medicine he can not find a cause for this.frieders321-12-2024
- You continue to platform these two cheats. With that in mind I can no longer use your site. I know my leaving means little, but, sometimes you have to take a stand. See ya!DJ21-12-2024
- Look at what Froome’s won since his last TdF, stop denying there is still more than possible one outcome to the future.Mistermaumau21-12-2024