Omloop van het Houtland: Tim Merlier dominates sprint for 15th victory of the season

Race Results
By published

Belgian fast man beats Max Kanter and Arne Marit to the line in Lichtervelde

LICHTERVELDE, BELGIUM - SEPTEMBER 24: Tim Merlier of Belgium and Soudal Quick-Step celebrates at finish line as race winner during the 78th Omloop van het Houtland 2025 a 198.7km one day race from Eernegem to Lichtervelde on September 24, 2025 in Lichtervelde, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tim Merlier wins the Omloop van het Houtland (Image credit: Getty Images)
Jump to:

Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) steamed to his 15th victory of the season at the Omloop van het Houtland on Wednesday, meaning only Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has more victories than him in 2025.

The Belgian sprinter was guided around the final few corners in Lichtervelde by his Soudal-QuickStep teammates in the perfect position, before launching his sprint with the finish line in sight, which no one could match.

Max Kanter (XDS Astana) took second on the day, after his teammates Yevgeniy Fedorov and Max Kanter had tried several times to attack away from the bunch in the final hour of racing on the 198.7km course. Close behind the German in third was Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), with the rest of the top five all coming from the host nation.

His final race in the iconic white and blue jersey will arrive next Friday, at the Münsterland Giro, where he'll be looking for victory number 16 on the season.

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling

James Moultrie
James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Latest on Cyclingnews