Equal top in the 2025 victory chart alongside Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock going into the opening stage of Paris-Nice with four successes, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) took the outright lead in that standing with a storming bunch sprint victory. The European champion looked a class apart from his sprint rivals as he claimed his fifth bouquet of the season, an impression that was backed up by a photo finish image that featured just the Belgian rider.
Winner of two stages at the AlUla Tour at the end of January and another two at the UAE Tour in February, 32-year-old Merlier has developed a very useful knack of starting his season very fast and is already well established among the peloton’s sprinting elite. But is the best?
Asked this question in the immediate aftermath of his Paris-Nice victory, one that emulated his opening day success on his debut in this race back in 2023, Merlier refused to be drawn. ‘It’s not up to me to say things like this. It’s up to you guys to say it or don’t say it. I just try to win as much as possible and to take my opportunities,’ said the Belgian.
There’s a strong argument to be made for Merlier being the current top dog in the bunch sprints having twice beaten rivals Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen in the UAE. However, Milan also won twice in that event, while Philipsen, who has nine Tour de France stage victories to his credit, bounced back from setbacks in that race to win the recent Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
Merlier said that he believes that his current level is the same as it was last year, when he took five wins before the end of February. Although he made his latest success appear straightforward, he said that it had been a complicated stage because the GC teams kept the speed and intensity so high.
‘From 70 kilometres to go, Visma started to make the peloton nervous, and it was really nervous on the climbs,’ said the Belgian. ‘But then we organised ourselves again, I stayed near the front, and other teams closed the gaps when there were attacks, and in the last kilometre I had the perfect lead-out.’
While Merlier is racking up victories on the back of the confidence that winning brings, stage one runner-up Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) confessed to being dissatisfied with his second place. The Frenchman has dropped down the sprinting hierarchy in the last couple of seasons, and it’s now three years since his last success at WorldTour level.
‘I’m disappointed because I finished very fast but I was badly placed at the last bend and I got a little bit boxed in,’ said Démare. ‘I’m also disappointed because I felt good and the team performed well. It’s a good sign but this is the third time I’ve finished second this season and I’d like to confirm my good form with a win.’
