Tim Merlier survives crashes to win in yellow at Paris-Nice - "Someone hit me from the back and my wheel was broken"

Tim Merlier has won stages 1 and 2 of Paris-Nice, proving himself to be not only the strongest but most successful sprinter in the race. The Soudal - Quick-Step rider was the fastest in the bunch sprint, but it was a chaotic day until the riders reached Bellegarde for the final time.

Merlier did not fall, but he was involved in the mass crash that took out rival Arnaud Démare and several other riders. "There was a crash before me and there wasn’t time to break. Someone hit me from the back and my wheel was broken so I needed to change the bike," the Belgian explained in a post-race interview.

Then within the final hour of racing there were several crashes, with the yellow jersey successfully navigating them and staying in the right position leading up to the bunch sprint. But even a sprint looked compromised at a certain point.

"It was a bit annoying today as the breakaway was playing with us a little, I think," he tells. "In the end Abrahamsen was really strong and stayed a long time in front. But the team did a really good job for me again."

In the final sprint there was no true leadout, but with his current power and form, he managed to win comfortably ahead of TotalEnergies' Emielien Jeannière. "It’s one to remember, for sure. I think this is the first time in my career that I’ve won while wearing the leader’s jersey".

Tomorrow, he sets off for the race's team time-trial with the yellow jersey, but it will be a difficult task to maintain it over the 28-kilometer course. "Of course, we’re going to try but it will be very difficult, I think," Merlier concluded, having taken his sixth win of the year this afternoon in France.