Tour de France sprint defeat on stage 8 means different things for Kaden Groves and Tim Merlier

Defeat in a Tour de France sprint can mean different things for different riders. For Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceunnick), a third place behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) was disappointing but also motivating in just his second over Tour sprint.

For Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), defeat left him in a very different mood. He was succinct as he was disappointed after a late puncture left him struggling and out of position before the Laval sprint where Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) earned the win.

"I had a flat tyre," Merlier explained when asked what had happened in English.

How do you feel? "I'm just disappointed," he concluded before ending his interviews.

Merlier had explained what happened in more detail in Dutch to the Flemish media at the team bus but his disappointment was the same. He punctured with 12.5km to go, managed to rejoin the peloton but then struggled for position in the sprint. Merlier eased up when his chance was gone and finished 56th.

"After I punctured I chased and I got back on and I briefly felt like I was back in a good position, but at the crucial moment, we just couldn't get back to the front," he said.

"I tried to find a slipstream at 500 metres to go but I knew it was going to be difficult, and my morale was also plummeting. When the sprint started, I was blocked in and I had to slow down too much."

Groves warmed down alongside team leader and lead-out man Mathieu van der Poel. He was frustrated not to have won the sprint but was standing in for Jasper Philipsen, who crashed out on stage 3.

Groves was selected for his first-ever Tour de France as a vital extra lead-out man for Philipsen. He has even adapted his pre-Tour training for the role, working on a longer, more constant lead-out surge rather than his pure sprinting.

He opened his sprint but had little response when Milan accelerated past him with Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) on his wheel.

"I ran out of legs in the final 200 metres," Groves explained as he spun the lactic acid and disappointment out of his legs.

"Milan was super strong. I have to say 'wow'. It was impressive to see even from behind. Tim Merlier beat him from his wheel a few days ago but you don't see it happen so much because he's so strong.

"Of course, we prefer to be sprinting with Jasper, he's a proven winner here. But I'm happy to step up and see if I can fill Jasper Philipsen's shoes, even if they're big shoes to fill.

"It's only a third but I think it's a step in the right direction, and it's not for lack of trying. I believe it's possible to get a win, we just need to get everything right. It's not the fault of my teammates at all. They've done a super job again and so we take this momentum going forward."

The amplification at the Tour

Alpecin-Deceunnick are not putting Groves under pressure to win the sprints. He started the Tour in a different role.

"I've prepared a lead out man and that's a completely different effort being a lea-dout man, " he explained.

"I was focusing on being as smooth as possible and doing a stronger sprint, more gradual sprint. Normally I choose to over gear myself so that I can keep my legs fresh.

"I think I'm missing a bit of that punch. In the final I can do a strong sprint but you need to be super fast here.

"I just hope that the other guys can take on some fatigue in the coming weeks, and that should bring me back to closer to their level or we may have some harder sprint stages that suit me better."

Groves is making his Tour debut and can sense and see why it is a far more important race.

"Everything's amplified. It's certainly completely different. A sprint is a sprint but the risks are bigger. The crowds are bigger and if the final starts with 50km to go at the Giro, here at the Tour it can start at 80km to go. The Tour is another level."

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