Paris-Nice | 2 for 2 as Tim Merlier takes another high-speed sprint victory
CyclingMonday, 10 March 2025 at 16:35
Tim Merlier is without a doubt the fastest sprinter at Paris-Nice and today on stage 2 he has taken his second consecutive win of the week in a bunch sprint for Soudal - Quick-Step, in a day marked by the crashes.
A flat day, with no wind blowing and no climbs or descents in the way, but by no means a calm one. The peloton in France would be in for a roller-coaster but at the start of the day only a small breakaway of three put some spice into the day. Jonas Abrahamsen, Samuel Fernandéz and Alexandre Delettre were the day's escapees.
The fast-moving peloton saw the group getting caught quite early on, but Abrahamsen attacked once again and went solo off the front throughout the majority of the final 50 kilometers. He would avoid the chaos in the peloton where several crashes affected it. First Guillaume Martin; then a mass crash including Arnaud Démare (teammate Florian Sénéchal was forced to abandon the race)...
At the intermediate sprint Matteo Jorgenson snatched two more bonus seconds whilst behind another crash took place and split the peloton, catching out riders like João Almeida, Mattias Skjelmose and Ben O'Connor. The split was then undone shortly after however, and Abrahamsen was then reeled in with 2.5 kilometers to go.
The bunch sprint was true chaos, with no team having a full leadout into the final kilometer but instead moving in two's. Axel Zingle of Visma tried to take advantage of it and launched an early sprint, but he was followed by Arnaud Démare. The sprinters launched their bid for the line but the face at the front was the same as Tim Merlier blasted off to victory once again. Emilien Jearnnière and Hugo Page completed the podium.
Read also
| 1 | Merlier Tim | Soudal Quick-Step | 04:11:29 |
| 2 | Jeannière Emilien | Team TotalEnergies | + 00 |
| 3 | Page Hugo | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 4 | Pedersen Mads | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 5 | Kristoff Alexander | Uno-X Mobility | + 00 |
| 6 | Kielich Timo | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 7 | Zingle Axel | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 8 | Démare Arnaud | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 00 |
| 9 | Govekar Matevz | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 10 | Jakobsen Fabio | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 11 | Bol Cees | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 12 | Del Grosso Tibor | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 13 | Fedorov Yevgeniy | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 14 | Leitão Iúri | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | + 00 |
| 15 | Molano Sebastian | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 16 | Aniolkowski Stanislaw | Cofidis | + 00 |
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- Is that what you see in the video? Then even my opinion of his humbleness was too lenient.Mistermaumau29-01-2026
- only yates knows.abstractengineer29-01-2026
- The second rider's account added a bit of context where there had been little, so people would want to read it. There's nothing to suggest that Jonas thought the two riders were together; it was a busy road.Hills3329-01-2026
- That may be so but he probably can’t say tgst as it could be considered breach of contract if he was signed up for team/JV duties, in which case we might never know because he won’t want to take the risk of having to pay like WVA. I don’t think anyone knows what was promised but he accepted a pay reduction and could easily have continued at Jayco. To be honest, I don’t think ANYBODY was still counting on him winning a GT at that time, hence why he’d never got any interesting offers before. And then it happenedMistermaumau29-01-2026
- If that’s your starting pount then in the article situation It’s not a matter of equality whatsoever because that person wouldn’t tag along with everyone (let alone film it) you he is targeting a specific person to follow which in fact means HE is guilty of creating inequality by considering that person is worth following more than some other random person. This is getting like the free speech absolutist trying to shut up people who reply against them.Mistermaumau29-01-2026
- There are a lot of desperate nobodies out there who can’t keep the satisfaction of an encounter in their private circle but hope to be in the spotlight for 15s by association. I guess you’re thinking of this Artem guy but at least he’s kind of known by riders and probably asks? This is only the beginning though, soon there will be tour guides taking groups along the training routes in the hope of encountering someone, a mix of the Hollywood home tours and safaris. I don’t understand the obsession when you can basically meet plenty of ex-pros, even Tour winners etc. in person once they open their retirement shops or organise training rides for enthusiasts.Mistermaumau29-01-2026
- Actually, it’s more a case of obstruction of the rider behind by messing with his Oxygen mix ;-) (and many are more Sulpho than Nitro by the smell of things)Mistermaumau29-01-2026
- Your logic holds at best during a race and even then, public is supposed to leave riders space and alone, hence authorities who move crowds for riders even at the busiest of climbs. You seem to have an almost perverse sense of intimacy celebrities should allow the public in the name of ENTERTAINMENT. If even training is now part of that entertainment then you know what, make the whole business pay-based. And even then, ask the price for tagging on. before doing so.Mistermaumau29-01-2026
- is this the top tier cyclist caught doping we were promised ?
ChillingCyclist29-01-2026 - Farting while you're on a sprint is mechanical doping. It gives you temporary nitro boost. It's fair to report that.
KerisVroom29-01-2026
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