"This is a really big win for myself" - Tim Merlier takes third stage win of 2024 Giro d'Italia on Rome cobbles
Cycling
Taking his third stage win at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, Soudal - Quick-Step's Tim Merlier powered across the Roman cobbles to victory on the final stage in a dramatic sprint finish.
"I need to say sorry to the guys, I just could not follow them today. It was so hectic," the Belgian, who matches the Maglia Ciclamino of Jonathan Milan for three stage wins at the 2024 Giro d'Italia with this latest victory, having held off the Lidl-Trek powerhouse in the fight for the line. "I was with Bert van Lerberghe until 2km to go, but then I saw him try something and I couldn't take his wheel so must say sorry. But, in the end, I took the win for the team."
Taking his career tally of Grand Tour stage wins to five, Merlier proved once again why he is considered amongst the fastest sprinters in the entirety of the World Tour. "I told Bert that if I can enter the cobbles in position five or six then I'll go from far on the cobbles like I did already at Nokere Koerse also," he says with a smile, referencing the race in which he has dominated over past years. "I tried the same tactic here and it worked."
"This is a really big win for myself. It feels a bit strange because everybody was already drinking beer and everything yesterday on the plane," he laughs. "Today we still needed to race. We did the first part easy and then in the end it was full gas. So for me, this kind of race is a bit special and for any sprinter this would be a really nice victory here."
Giro d'Italia 2024 stage 21 results:
| 1 | MERLIER Tim | Soudal Quick-Step | 180 | 02:51:50 |
| 2 | MILAN Jonathan | Lidl-Trek | 130 | + 00 |
| 3 | GROVES Kaden | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 95 | + 00 |
| 4 | GAVIRIA Fernando | Movistar Team | 80 | + 00 |
| 5 | VAN DIJKE Tim | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 60 | + 00 |
| 6 | ANIOLKOWSKI Stanislaw | Cofidis | 45 | + 00 |
| 7 | DAINESE Alberto | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 40 | + 00 |
| 8 | LONARDI Giovanni | Team Polti Kometa | 35 | + 00 |
| 9 | EWAN Caleb | Team Jayco-AlUla | 30 | + 00 |
| 10 | GRONDIN Donavan | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | 25 | + 00 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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🚴🇮🇹 | Een waanzinnige sprint van Tim Merlier! 🇧🇪🔥 Zijn derde ritzege in deze Giro! 💪 #GirodItalia 📺 Koers kijk je via discovery+
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