For someone long regarded as one of the fastest sprinters in the world, it's somewhat surprising that Tim Merlier has not managed to showcase these talents at a Grand Tour since the 2022 Vuelta a Espana. This long wait will soon come to an end however.
As confirmed by Soudal - Quick-Step boss, Patrick Lefevere in conversation with Sporza, the 31-year-old Belgian who's won stages of both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the past, will return to Italy next month for just the fourth Grand Tour of his career.
In his previous trip to the Giro d'Italia, back in 2021, Merlier, then riding in the colours of Alpecin-Fenix, took victory from a bunch sprint on stage 2 in Novara and finished 3rd, as Caleb Ewan took the win on stage 7 in Termoli.
Despite taking 11 wins in his debut season at Soudal - Quick-Step in 2023 though, Merlier wasn't granted the Grand Tour nod as Remco Evenepoel led both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana teams with Fabio Jakobsen being selected ahead of Merlier as sprinter for the Tour de France.
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