Results Tour de France 2026 Stage 8 - Tim Merlier does it again! Belgian denies Jasper Philipsen and goes back-to-back after Liam Slock caught inside final kilometre
Cycling
Tim Merlier claimed his second consecutive victory at the 2026 Tour de France on Stage 8, coming through late to beat Biniam Girmay and Olav Kooij in Bergerac.
Liam Slock had threatened to deny the sprinters after carrying a slender advantage into the final three kilometres, but the Lotto-Intermarche rider was caught immediately before the flamme rouge after a long solo resistance.
Sprint teams control quiet opening
Several riders attempted to escape after the start in Perigueux, but Kasper Asgreen was repeatedly marked by Alpecin-Premier Tech and Soudal - Quick-Step. Baptiste Veistroffer was also brought back before his Lotto-Intermarche teammate Slock attacked and was joined by Thibault Guernalec and Jakub Otruba.
Once the trio had moved clear, Dylan van Baarle and Silvan Dillier controlled the peloton for Quick-Step and Alpecin-Premier Tech. Their advantage remained around two minutes during an opening 100 kilometres which passed without significant incident despite temperatures climbing above 30°C.
Slock took the solitary point on the Cote de Domme before Otruba outmanoeuvred him at the intermediate sprint in Saint-Cyprien. Behind, Jasper Philipsen accelerated past Max Kanter and Mads Pedersen to lead the peloton through.
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Slock carries fight deep into finale
The break began to fracture on the Cote du Buisson-de-Cadouin, a 2.2-kilometre climb averaging 5.3%. Otruba attacked first, but Slock waited before closing the gap and passing the Czech rider approximately 300 metres from the summit.
Asgreen attempted another move from the peloton on the climb, only to be closely followed by Mathieu van der Poel and several riders protecting their teams’ sprint ambitions. The acceleration was quickly neutralised.
Slock continued alone after the summit and still held approximately 90 seconds with 30 kilometres remaining. NSN Cycling Team and Decathlon CMA CGM Team added riders to the pursuit for Girmay and Kooij, but the Belgian retained more than a minute entering the final 10 kilometres.
The rising road finally began to erode his advantage. It fell from 40 seconds at seven kilometres to just 15 seconds with three kilometres remaining, where Slock accelerated once more after a right-angled corner.
His effort ended shortly before the flamme rouge. Slock moved aside completely spent as the sprint trains swept past and began fighting for position through the technical approach to the line.
Merlier overhauls rivals in Bergerac
Kanter was guided into the final 2.5 kilometres by three XDS Astana teammates, while Philipsen moved up behind Van der Poel approaching the last corner.
Van der Poel launched the sprint with approximately 700 metres remaining and Philipsen positioned directly on his wheel. Merlier had further ground to recover, but surged through to claim his second win in as many days following his Stage 7 success in Bordeaux.
Girmay crossed the line second, with Kooij completing the podium. Philipsen finished fourth ahead of Pavel Bittner, Rick Pluimers, Pascal Ackermann, Clement Russo and Kanter.
Carlos Silva is a writer for CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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