Don’t ask Tim Merlier for his version of the European Championship sprint: "I don’t remember much about it"

He wasn’t even supposed to be there, but suddenly he was draped with the gold medal: Tim Merlier was the best at the European Cycling Championship in his home country on Sunday. The Belgian couldn't contain his joy afterwards, although he expressed it in his own realistic manner.

Merlier was over the moon in the flash interview with his victory. "Incredible. The first few hours weren’t great for me, but after that, I had a pretty good day. I started to believe as the race went on." In the final moments, it almost went wrong for the sprinting powerhouse. "My chain came off in the last kilometer. I thought it was over, but I managed to put it back on. I found a gap and emerged from the pack at the right moment."

Before the race, it was uncertain whether Merlier would participate. Initially, the newly crowned European champion wasn't even on the start list, but Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout ultimately decided to include him in the selection. "I asked to be here because I believed I could win. In the end, I succeeded, and I’m proud of it."

"There was a lot of pressure on us, as that's something the media likes," Merlier said. "Anything was possible, but that’s always the case in a sprint. If my chain had come off a bit later, we might have ended up second and third. Fourth and fifth were also possible, but I could have been at home. I’m very happy that Sven and the others believed in me and gave me this opportunity."

Don’t ask Merlier for his version of the final kilometer. "To be honest, I don’t remember much about it," he told the media at the press conference. "I was always well-positioned in the last laps, but what I know is that my chain came off. I have no idea when I actually started my sprint; all I know is that I rode as hard as I could to the finish."

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"After the Belgian Championship, I had only one goal," said Merlier

The former Belgian champion will get to wear the European champion’s jersey. "After being Belgian champion twice, I said after this year’s Belgian Championship: there’s one more goal, and that was this. I was very disappointed after the Belgian Championship, and I worked hard for the European Championship. I had two tough crashes in the last two weeks, but I was still able to be here."

"This means a lot to me, really," Merlier continues. "After the finish, I had to ask several times: Is this real, is this real? Please tell me it is. I also wanted to get to the podium as quickly as possible so I could actually put on that jersey. If you had told me this when I was eight years old, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I always want more," he concludes poetically. And now, a celebration? "No, first I have doping control and other things," he laughs broadly.