Tirreno-Adriatico: Tim Merlier wins stage 6

Image 1 of 29

Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) claimed his first-ever WorldTour victory with a superb sprint into Senigallia on stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Belgian beat the pre-stage favourites, holding off a late charge from double-stage winner Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take the win.

Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Pro Cycling) came through to take third place, while Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) faded into fourth. Meanwhile, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) rolled in with the rest of the peloton to keep his place at the top of the overall classification with two stages remaining.

Following a frenetic run into the finish, Gaviria opened up the sprint first after his UAE Team Emirates train peeled off. He paid the price of the early move as Merlier overhauled him easily with a huge acceleration. There was even time for the Belgian to glance over his shoulder at his competitors before putting in a second dig towards the line.

“I was suffering a lot in the mountains, it wasn’t easy after the crash on the first day. Today it was nice to take the victory and I am happy to take it for the team and for me,” Merlier said.

“The sport directeur said this morning that you need to go from far, so I listened to him and it worked out. It was the perfect lead out from the team, they put me in the perfect position. We took a risk by staying on the left side to stay out of the wind but we made the right choice.”

Ackermann had been one of the pre-stage favourites after winning the first two sprint stages earlier in the week. The German was left completely isolated in the finale and had to wheel surf through the final kilometres. In the end, Ackermann found himself out of position as the sprint wound up. A gap did finally open, but he could do nothing to take back the gap Merlier had secured himself.

How it unfolded

After a day for the climbers and general classification favourites on Friday, stage 6 would be one for the sprinters to shine. In true sprint stage fashion, the breakaway was out the front door instantly. With little chance of making it stick, the peloton had no intention of wasting energy early on.

Five riders took one for the team, charging up the road to a quick advantage. Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale), Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Josip Rumac (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Carl Fredrik Hagen (Lotto Soudal), Veljko Stojnić (Vini Zabu’ KTM) were the fab five that took up the challenge. Meanwhile, Bora-Hansgrohe managed the pace on the front of the pack, hoping to set up Ackermann up for his third win of the race.

The five escapees were allowed to linger at the front, given hardly more than three minutes on the peloton. It was no easy day, though, and the peloton was strung out under a fast pace set by Bora-Hansgrohe and the other sprint teams. The German team disappeared from the front briefly with 66 kilometres to go as Ackermann stopped twice due to a mechanical issue. On the second occasion, he picked up a new bike from the car and was brought back to the front of the bunch by his teammates.

Like clockwork, the gap between the leaders and the pack was chipped away in the final quarter of the 171km stage, and with 30km to go it had been reduced to less than two minutes. Pellaud was the first member of the breakaway to wave goodbye to his companions, patting Hagen on the back before sitting up and waiting to be caught by the peloton.

The remaining four riders plugged away for a while longer, but they never looked like they could make it stick. As the bell tolled for the final lap and 16km to go, the peloton had the leaders in its sights. Rider by rider, the breakaway dropped away, and Hagen was the last man standing before eventually being caught with 13km remaining.

There was no shortage of teams willing to drive the pace and even Chris Froome spent some time on the front of the pack for Ineos Grenadiers in the final kilometres. Isolated in the bunch, Ackermann placed himself on the wheel of Gaviria under the flamme rouge but got muscled out of position amid the jostling within the bunch. 

In the end, it was Merlier who found himself in the box seat, following the Colombian through a gap on the right side of the road, then turning on the gas and overtaking him. A freed Ackermann was at his heels, but Merlier had done enough to take the win.