"Winning as many sprints as possible" - Tim Merlier bluntly reveals target for 2024

Adding a total of 11 wins to his impressive palmares during the 2023 season, for Tim Merlier it's a simple case of asking for more of the same looking ahead to 2024.

"The aim is always to do better. Everyone always wants to do better, so do we," the 31-year-old Belgian tells Sporza after taking a dramatic victory at the Bredene Beach Race over the weekend, narrowly avoiding what would have been a disastrous crash with a quad bike in the process.

Competing against a number of his Soudal - Quick-Step teammates, Merlier cites bragging rights as his biggest motivator during the race. "Then we can chat about it for a whole year," he says. "We are not paid for it and of course a road race is more important than this, but it is just fun for morale. For the atmosphere. It is just more fun if you have won here."

"Everyone has their own ambitions. For me that is winning as many sprint races as possible," he concludes, reverting back to talk of next season. "For Bert Van Lerberghe that may be doing as many good lead-outs as possible. For Tim Declercq that is doing as many good leading kilometres as possible."