Merlier wins back-to-back sprints on stage 8 as heat forces Tour to shorten stage 9

Tim Merlier made it two in two at the Tour de France on Saturday, timing his kick perfectly to win stage 8 into Bergerac and back up his stage 7 victory in Bordeaux. The Soudal Quick-Step sprinter became the first rider to win consecutive Tour stages since Jasper Philipsen in 2023, and left little doubt that he is the fastest man in this race.

The finish was chaotic. Merlier found himself boxed in as the sprint opened up and had to relaunch from several wheels back, but he carried his speed all the way to the line to hold off a fast-finishing Biniam Girmay. The day's breakaway almost spoiled the script, with Liam Slock caught only inside the final two kilometres. The back-to-back haul lifts Merlier to second in the green jersey standings, now 15 points behind Mads Pedersen.

There was no movement at the top of the general classification. Tadej Pogacar finished safely in the bunch and holds the yellow jersey he seized on the Col du Tourmalet, with Jonas Vingegaard 2:42 back and Pogacar's young teammate Isaac del Toro third at 3:27, still in the white jersey.

The bigger story may be off the road. With a red alert heatwave gripping France, organiser ASO shortened Sunday's stage 9 from Malemort to Ussel from 185.5km to 155.5km under the UCI Extreme Weather Protocol, cutting the final 30km. Thirty-seven of France's 101 departments were placed on red alert, and the same heat forced the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre to close in Paris. ASO said the stage would still run, with local authorities and medical teams fully mobilised, and urged everyone to take precautions. Pogacar, bracing for another day near 40C, summed up the mood: go day by day, keep cooling the body, and survive each stage.