🚴🇧🇪 | Tim Merlier sprint naar de Europese titel in Hasselt! De Belg zegeviert in eigen huis ten koste van Olav Kooij, die eigenlijk van te ver eraan moest beginnen... 🥇🇧🇪 #EuroRoad24 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
Don’t ask Tim Merlier for his version of the European Championship sprint: "I don’t remember much about it"
CyclingSunday, 15 September 2024 at 20:37
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."
Read more below the video!
"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.
Il Lombardia 2024
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Winning for himself and supporting Evenepoel: Top talent Lecerf learns valuable lessons in strong debut year
Vermeersch saw firsthand "phenomenal acceleration" Van der Poel: "That video went viral"
Latest Cycling News
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Winning for himself and supporting Evenepoel: Top talent Lecerf learns valuable lessons in strong debut year
Vermeersch saw firsthand "phenomenal acceleration" Van der Poel: "That video went viral"
Popular Cycling News
Jorgenson will continue to be Vingegaard's super-domestique as long as the "supermen" are at the start: "not interested in leadership role"
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | EF Education-EasyPost strengthens its team with Jayco trainee Mackellar
Chris Froome unexpectedly close to end of career after all: "I never felt as strong as I did at that moment"
Roglic considers Red Bull strong enough for clash with Pogacar, with or without Evenepoel: "But where there is smoke, there is fire"
Meanwhile in the peloton | Evenepoel sidelined after surgery, Jorgenson poses with Visma surfboard
Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024