
















Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the seventh stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Friday while race favorite Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey. Merlier was moved into position to attack by his Soudal Quick-Step team and timed his move well to clinch his fourth Tour stage win. “I’m delighted. When I launched my sprint I didn’t know how far it was,” Merlier said. “But I made it, thanks to the team, it was great work from them. After all the hard work two days ago and today it feels good to know I could repay the guys.” Four-time Tour champion Pogacar finished safely in the main pack along with two-time winner Jonas Vinegaard, his closest rival. He maintained his lead of 2 minutes, 42 seconds over second-placed Vinegaard in the overall standings.

















