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Tim Merlier has won his second consecutive sprint stage, coming from the back of the bunch to assert his claim on the green jersey. As the peloton turned the final corner onto the finish, the Soudal Quick-Step rider was so far behind —edged out on the corner— that he barely appeared in the television shots. Mathieu van der Poel started his final lead-out for teammate Jasper Philipsen, stringing the group out. Merlier was forced to launch early, riding the slipstream and hopping forward, rider by rider.

Belgium’s Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) kept up his winning record at the Tour de France with a magnificent sprint to take a deserved victory in Stage 7 on the banks of the Garonne in Bordeaux. Merlier recovered from being boxed in on the home straight to power through the gaps and launch from the slipstream of Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), the Norwegian settling for second place ahead of Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team).