Tim Merlier - 'I felt really miserable after the Tour'
Tim Merlier’s Tour de France brought two stage wins and plenty of praise, but the Belgian sprinter left July with mixed feelings. In an interview with Het Nieuwsblad, he admitted that the triumphs masked a more difficult reality.
“After the Tour I felt really miserable,” he said. “It is strange to say, but even though everyone congratulated me, I did not feel satisfied. I had worked so hard and was glad when I read that Pogačar also did not feel much like it anymore. Then I was not the only one.”
That sense of emptiness forced him into a pause. Merlier turned to barbecues, festivals and quiet days at home. “Quality time with my little son Jules. And a lot of time in the garden. I really enjoyed that,” he said. The reset worked, and soon he was training again with fresh energy.
The numbers tell the story of his form. Sixteen victories already this season place him among the most successful riders in the peloton. “I sometimes have to pinch myself when I see those numbers,” Merlier told Het Nieuwsblad. “There will be days when I lose and the world will soon forget me, just look at Christophe Laporte at Visma-Lease a Bike. But for now it is a good season, and we will see where it ends.”
His dominance in sprints has been extraordinary. Of the seventeen bunch sprints he has contested this year, he has been beaten only once, by Jonathan Milan back in February. Since then he has turned the tables, defeating Milan five times.
The Renewi Tour added another triumph. A frantic opening day raced at nearly 50 km/h saw several riders abandon, but Merlier still emerged as the fastest. “At one point I thought it might be too early, but in the end it was not the case,” he said. “Thanks to the great work of the team I was well placed and could finish it off.”
That victory put him level with Mads Pedersen on thirteen wins, just behind Tadej Pogačar’s sixteen. “Now that Pogačar is not riding the Vuelta, maybe it is possible to catch him,” Merlier said with a grin. Pedersen will ride in Spain, giving him another rival to measure himself against.
Looking ahead, Merlier is not short of opportunities. The Renewi Tour continues, followed by races such as GP de Fourmies, and the Gooikse Pijl. He may even make an appearance at the new Tour of Holland in October. “Those sixteen wins are still possible, maybe even more,” he said. “We will see.”
