Merlier wins the stage 12 sprint in Chalon-sur-Saône for his third Tour victory

Tim Merlier is the sprinter of this Tour de France. The Soudal Quick-Step rider won stage 12 into Chalon-sur-Saône on Thursday, timing his effort to perfection to take his third stage victory of the 2026 race, ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen.

It was the closest bunch finish of the Tour so far, the fast men packed together as they hit the long, dead-flat finishing straight. Philipsen had the lead-out he wanted, but once again Merlier found another gear off his rival's wheel and had time to sit up and celebrate. The sprint was not without cost: a crash inside the final few hundred metres brought down Fernando Gaviria and Søren Wærenskjold and held up part of the peloton, though no serious injuries were reported.

The finale was chaotic before the sprinters took over. Lidl-Trek spent the closing kilometres trying to blow the race apart, and green jersey Mads Pedersen attacked repeatedly, committing to aggression rather than waiting for a sprint he might not win. Nothing stuck. The sprint trains reasserted control inside the final three kilometres, and the day resolved into the bunch kick everyone had expected.

The stage began somewhere unusual for a bike race, rolling out from the Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, a former Formula 1 venue, before covering 179 largely flat kilometres. It was billed as perhaps the last pure sprint chance before the Tour turns into the Vosges and the Alps, which sharpened both the stage win and the points battle. Tadej Pogačar stays in the yellow jersey, his overall lead untouched on a day the general classification riders were content to let pass.

For Merlier, stage 12 follows his wins on stages 7 and 8, confirming him as the dominant pure sprinter of the 2026 Tour.