Tim Merlier wins the 9th stage of the Tour de France, Pogacar loses Almeida

Tim Merlier won his second victory at the Tour de France 2025 on Sunday in Châteauroux. Nevertheless. For example, winning the 9th stage marked by the escapades from Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu Van der Poel, taken up just 700 meters from the finish.

The Belgian sprinter of the Sudal Quick-Step team hated on the thread the Italian Jonathan Milan. Nevertheless. Consequently, winner the day before in Laval, and the Belgian Arnaud de Lie to double the place six days after his success in Dunkirk (new window).

I’m happy, but it was very hard today with the heat. However, Additionally, Nevertheless, In the final. Similarly. Furthermore, with all these attempts at borders, I did not succeed in drinking and I finished a little dehydratedcommented the Belgian, who signs tim merlier wins 9th stage new his third victory in the Tour by counting tim merlier wins 9th stage that of 2021.

Tadej Pogacar retains his yellow leader from the leader. Therefore. still 54 seconds in front of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, on the eve of the first mountain stage in the Massif Central. In addition, But the world champion lost his main lieutenant. the Portuguese Joao Almeida, who abandoned during the stage, too decreased by his fall occurred two days ago.

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It is a big blow for the Slovenian. who will have to manage without his best ally in the passes against the Visma team of Jonas Vingegaard. who presents several formidable climbers among his workforce.

We enter the kingdom. or one of the kingdoms, of Pogacar, who easily kept his yellow leader as a leader on Sunday. But the world champion lost his main lieutenant. the Portuguese Joao Almeida, too decreased by his fall occurred two days ago.

It is a big loss. it was in great shaperegretted the Slovenian. who will have to do without his best ally against Jonas Vingegaard and his band.

It was a luxury to have it in the fight for the general classification. His abandonment will modify our plans a little. but we tim merlier wins 9th stage new will try to do the tim merlier wins 9th stage best at sevenunderlined Pogacar. who can always rely on Adam Yates, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler or even Jhonatan Narvaez in the passes.

Merlier, 32, signed his third victory in total during the Tour, if we count that of 2021. The Belgian went up on the wire and exceeded Milan on the line during this day promised to sprinters.

However. unlike the day before. it was anything but calm, since Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu Van der Poel attacked the zero kilometer.

We then thought that they were targeting the intermediate sprint at km 24. but the two Alpecin teammates continued their effort to rush into a long raid on straight roads.

The gap has been mounted up to 5 min 35 s before the sprinters teams begin to harden. the pace when approaching Châteauroux. where the Visma tim merlier wins 9th stage new formation tried in vain for a border to trap Pogacar.

Six kilometers from the finish, Rickaert, completely exhausted, got up to let Van der Poel try his luck alone. In a beauty effort. the triple winner of Paris-Roubaix resisted the return of the peloton to the red flame before being swallowed without. the slightest pity by the hardship of the furious.

Mathieu told me that we needed to be two. But, in the end, I was just dead. I can come home tomorrow, my turn is overjoked Rickaert.

We suffered but we also have a lot of fun, we offered a good showsaid Van der Poel.

Quebecer Guillaume Boivin took the 60th row, while Ontario Michael Woods finished 129th.