Stage report

Another one for the sprinters, another one for Tim Merlier, his third of this Tour. The finale was pure chaos: a touch of wheels sent Gaviria crashing into Wærenskjold and took down a big part of the peloton, but Merlier stayed upright, launched from deep and beat Kooij and Philipsen. Pogačar keeps yellow.

Merlier’s hat-trick underlines his status as one of the peloton’s purest sprinters, not bad for a rider who, like Van Aert and Van der Poel, started out slogging through the mud as a cyclocross racer before switching his focus fully to the road.

The game:

Stage podium:

1. Molteni by Jeroen Vandeput and Renz Team by AleRoggia
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3. Scatto Timido Cycling Team by Davide Guarisco and I’m still tired after the giro by Daniele

Yellow Jersey podium:

1. Renz Team by AleRoggia
2. Molteni by Jeroen Vandeput
3. Scott Cycling Team by Giacomo Salmoiraghi

Polka dot podium:

1. The White Tornadooos by Fred de Witt
2. Piccolo65 by Jeannette Kleijne
3. El Tiburon by Barcollo ma non mollo

Molteni and Renz Team share the stage win, so at the top of the general classification the story stays the same: AleRoggia still leads Jeroen Vandeput by 25 points, those two just can’t be separated, with Giacomo Salmoiraghi’s Scott Cycling Team third.

Another flat day, so the polka dot standings don’t move.

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