“My gut feeling told me that Tim deserved it” – Coorevits explores the long road to glory of Tim Merlier

Tim Merlier has made a habit of defying expectations. On Wednesday, the 32-year-old Belgian won the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, and now heads to the Tour de France next month with Soudal – Quick-Step, where he’ll co-lead alongside Remco Evenepoel and fight for sprint glory. It’s a belated second chance at the Tour after a single appearance in 2021, when he won a chaotic stage in Pontivy. The opportunity has been a long time coming.

Belgian journalist Hugo Coorevits reflected in Wielerflits on just how unlikely Merlier’s journey has been. “The road to the world top was long and unpredictable. Six years ago he was still riding kermis races in a black jersey, ignored by professional teams.” That Merlier is now on the start list for cycling’s biggest race is the product of both quiet persistence and the loyalty of a few key believers.

One of those believers was Mario De Clercq, former cyclocross world champion and the man who never gave up on Merlier even when nobody else was watching. “For years he tried to sell Merlier, but without success,” Coorevits wrote. “I already knew how fast he was when he was in the U23s,” De Clercq recalled. “His first meters are phenomenal. Anyone who is not on his wheel immediately loses two bike lengths.”

Eventually, Christoph Roodhooft gave Merlier a shot at Corendon-Circus, then a modest Continental team headlined by Mathieu van der Poel. Three weeks later, Merlier claimed the Belgian national title in Ghent, outsprinting both Timothy Dupont and his friend Wout van Aert. It was a breakthrough, but not the start of a dream trajectory.

Instead, the team’s focus shifted to Jasper Philipsen, five years younger and seen as the future. Merlier still won, including that 2021 Tour de France stage, but by 2022 the writing was on the wall. Alpecin–Deceuninck backed Philipsen; Merlier was edged aside. Not to say that Philipsen wasn’t the right move, given he and Van der Poel have formed a formidable partnership, but it meant that for some time we didn’t get to see the best of Merlier.

Enter Patrick Lefevere. With Mark Cavendish departing, Soudal – Quick-Step needed a proven finisher. Merlier was that man. And in the Quick-Step setup, famously intense, but also loyal, he flourished. “Within Soudal – Quick-Step he grew into a leader and mood maker,” Coorevits wrote. Though shy in front of cameras, Merlier found his place within the team’s inner circle. “With Patrick Lefevere he is finally at home.”

That home won’t afford him the same luxury enjoyed by rivals like Milan or Philipsen, Merlier won’t have a dominant sprint train (or simply Van der Poel) pulling for him. But he never has. “Merlier is also a champion who needs little,” Coorevits pointed out. It’s part of what makes his style so direct: position well, unleash early, and hope your opening jump is enough.

This summer’s Tour will provide a fascinating benchmark. The first stage is flat, a rare sprinters’ opportunity to wear yellow. Merlier will face Milan, Philipsen, and Biniam Girmay in the battle for that honour on the opening stage.

But beyond that immediate contest, Merlier’s selection carries symbolic weight. His is a career that unfolded in reverse, ignored in his prime years, never an academy prodigy, and repeatedly underestimated. “Merlier’s remarkable career is also a lesson for all team managers, scouts and scientists who judge young riders based on wattages and other data,” said De Clercq. “My gut feeling told me that Tim deserved it. Fortunately, Christoph Roodhooft gave him that chance.”

The question is can Merlier now enjoy the Tour de France campaign his superb 2025 deserves?