The final of the 17th stage of the Tour de France was overshadowed by a few falls. Belgian Tim Merlier was also involved. Afterwards he shoots sharply against some competitors.
Wet streets around Valence made the sprint finish of the 17th tour stage.
Some drivers rushed around one kilometer before the finish line, sprint star Tim Merlier was braked. The 32-year-old had to brake and stop so as not to crash into the collapsed colleagues.
The professional from Team Soudal Quick-Step then spoke plain text.
“I could set up a list of those who go down during the race, and once again I was in this situation,” Merlier told the “Sporza” portal.
Merlier avoids certain wheel colleagues
“Sometimes they seem to prefer to go to the ground instead of sprinting. I prefer to drive my sprint and avoid falls and injuries,” he continued. “It is one thing that you have to regulate yourself, but there are some names that I would rather not stand in these chaotic moments.”
However, he himself had problems in the scene in question, as he admitted. “At that moment I had no control, otherwise I would not have been involved in the accident. I thought I could still drive, but I had made two wrong decisions in the roundabout.”
The peleton was divided into two groups by the falls. The front part sprinted out. The Italian Jonathan Milan won Jonathan Milan ahead of Jordi Meeus and Tobias Lund Andresen.
Merlier missed a chance of another stage victory. He celebrated two victories on this year’s tour.
He looks at a possible triumph in Paris with skepticism.
“It will be very difficult on the Champs-Élysées,” he said. “There are now three demanding stages and my legs will not be satisfied,” said Merlier. In the coming days, the tour turn into the Alps before the grand finale rises in Paris.