Tim Merlier wins 2nd straight stage at Tour de France

Belgium’s Tim Merlier bolted to his second straight Tour de France stage win on a sweltering Saturday, becoming the first cyclist in three years to win two in a row.

The 33-year-old sprinter caught up to breakaway rider and countryman Liam Slock with about 1.5 kilometers left in the relatively flat 180.4-kilometer Stage 8 trek from Perigueux to Bergerac.

It was Merlier’s fifth career stage win as he became the first to go back-to-back since Jasper Philipsen in the opening days of the 2023 Tour de France. Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay finished second and Dutchman Olav Kooij was third.

Four-time champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey. Two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark is two minutes and 42 seconds behind, followed by Mexico’s Isaac del Toro in third place.

The area is under an extreme high temperature warning, with Bergerac hitting 97 degrees on Saturday. Because of the scorching heat, officials announced a change to the course ahead of a hilly Stage 9 on Sunday. The route was reduced from 185.5 to 155.5 kilometers and will now run from Malemort to Ussel.

“This decision has been made necessary by the exceptional weather conditions. It aims to ensure that the race can take place under conditions compatible with the red heatwave alert,” organizers said.

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