“I had already won on Thursday in Knokke-Heist, but things went even better in Brussels. There were three massive sprints on this Tour of Belgium. I got trapped in Montaigu-Zichem and I didn’t “I couldn’t exploit my speed. I won the other two but I also noticed that I was a little tired after the Giro,” Merlier said in an interview after the race.
In the sprint, Merlier was again ideally launched by Bert Van Lerberghe. “He did a remarkable job, I can’t stress it enough. We were in a good position, and he decided to stretch the whole peloton in one line. I then had to position myself to go hard after the last corner and I was able to do my sprint the way I wanted.”
Merlier will now aim for a third jersey (after 2019 and 2022) as Belgian champion during the road race next Sunday in Zottegem. “I will do everything to present myself as fresh as possible on Sunday.”
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