Tim Merlier hits back at Jasper Philipsen following De Panne defeat, at Scheldeprijs: "It is just important for me to be able to sprint and win every race"
Cycling
Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen, former teammates, are currently the two best sprinters in the peloton. Whilst Philpsen has over the past few weeks taken the headlines by beating Merlier at Tirreno-Adriatico, Classic Brugge-De Panne and also winning Milano-Sanremo; the Soudal - Quick-Step sprinter has returned to big victories today as he beat Philipsen directly at Scheldeprijs.
“It was not the plan to be so far away, but that was due to circumstances. Some riders were almost crashing into each other. That's how we lost each other, but I knew that Bert [Van Lerberghe] was still coming. Bert then knows exactly what to do," Merlier said in a post-race interview with Wielerflits. "I lost track of the signs for a while, but I learned from my sprint in the Classic Brugge-De Panne. That's why I just started from far away. You ride at about 70 to 75 kilometers per hour and then it goes fast.”
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it was another chaotic sprint today in Belgium but Merlier, who has thrived in those this season, has done it again. He got the perfect positioning into the sprint, and set off with an acceleration that no-one could reach, and benefited from Philipsen's non-ideal positioning to take his seventh victory of the season - which includes quite a few at World Tour level.
Whether he can be called the best sprinter in the peloton currently or not depends on who you ask, “but I'm not concerned with that," he assures. "It is just important for me to be able to sprint and win every race. I am happy that I was able to achieve my seventh victory here.”
Merlier is racing an almost complete spring classics program, fighting for the wins in the pan-flat races but also contesting the toughest of cobbled classics. Although he's unlikely to be a big favourite, he will contest Paris-Roubaix and as an in-form rider who excells in the flat roads, he can think of doing something special.
“I already felt in the Tour of Flanders that the form is going well. I have also recovered well from the efforts. I look forward. I hope luck is on my side," Merlier concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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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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Our seventh victory in #SP24! Congrats, @MerlierTim & #TheWolfpack! Photo: @GettySport
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