Tim Merlier confirmed for Grand Tour return at the 2024 Giro d'Italia
CyclingTuesday, 09 April 2024 at 18:00
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.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- it will be interesting to see his results when he steps into the bigger races. 19 wins, but so many in the fall in mid level races. still the mid races need to be won to step up to the biggies.mij09-01-2026
- Looks like his poor health just stomped on the rear mech of his cycling career.Onepiece09-01-2026
- she is so good. even her results from 2025, which were “bad”, would be a career year for most riders. and consider at MSR, for example, her teammate won - perhaps Lotte could have won it. wishing her the best for 2026!mij09-01-2026
- bummer - he was fun to watch and was young. had a lot left in him.mij09-01-2026
- What a fairytale day! Everything fell into place.mhfrvz09-01-2026
- Not sure you can say that someone as talented and successful as him has had bad luck, but between coming along right after the two titans and now this, his is a career cut short. Perhaps he can transition to a different role in the sport, but in any case I wish him well.MidnightRider08-01-2026
- I doubt it. This blows a hole in their ranks.mobk08-01-2026
- For a while there, Eli was the best of the rest in cyclocross behind Mathieu and Wout. It must be tough to be forced to retire early due to medical issues, but good health trumps everything else. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
santiagobenites08-01-2026 - however you frame it, it seems that they asked more from Ayuso (who obviously did not deliver the needed support) than they are asking from del Torro ... who - according to this quote - just needs to show up and can then ride however he likes.Ketterechts08-01-2026
- I agree that Ayuso was wrong in doing what he did at the tour, but we don't know everything behind the feud unless they all say honestly what went wrong. If he us such a rat and traitor, which it's a bit harsh, then what is to be said about Soler when he was with Movistar and didn't want to ride for Mas? I was disappointed, yes, but realize riders also have goals, and right now, UAE is all about their golden boy.Colnago-fan08-01-2026
Loading
1 Comments