Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) scored his 16th win of the 2024 season at Gooikse Pijl, prevailing in the bunch sprint finish at the end of the 195.8km race.
The Belgian, who also has three Giro d'Italia stages and the European road title on his season palmarès, pipped Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in a photo finish on the line. Further back, Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease A Bike) rounded out the podium just ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla).
The triumph marks Merlier's 50th career victory and is also his third in a row following wins at the European Championships road race and the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.
While the two Dutchmen couldn't make their way alongside and past Merlier, it looked as though a late burst from Meeus might have denied the QuickStep man another win. However, the photo finish showed that he had in fact held off Meeus and taken the glory in Gooik
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
-
Setmana Valenciana: Demi Vollering converts 19km solo into opening stage victory
European road champion opens 2026 account with a win on a blustery day in Valencia -
Best tyre levers 2026: One product is so good, we've not bothered including the rest
After testing out various other tyre lever options, nothing comes close to the Muc-Off Rim Stix -
'We're riding with a completely different mentality than last season' – XDS-Astana not chasing UCI points in 2026 despite earning 1,000 in one day
'In the 14 years I was on the team, the term UCI points was never mentioned once. I still believe the points will come naturally,' says directeur sportif -
The UCI's wheel depth rule is pointless, and our testing data shows why
How do wheel depth, spoke count, and spoke material affect speed? We're back in the wind tunnel to find out
