Merlier dreams of a podium in Roubaix but is already looking ahead to the Tour: "We should have tried this two years ago"

Among all the top favorites at the start of Paris-Roubaix, there are a few wildcards who, despite lacking experience, team strength, or other factors, aren’t considered serious contenders. But they might just surprise everyone. Tim Merlier is one of them. He has never delivered a standout performance in the Hell of the North, but given his abilities, something special could be in store.

Merlier’s track record at Paris-Roubaix isn’t great. “I’ve ridden Roubaix four times, and I’ve crashed three times. Only two years ago, I had a clean ride. No crash, no puncture,” he told José De Cauwer in Het Nieuwsblad. Merlier managed to stay in the mix that year, but a top result wasn’t within reach. “Voilà, no legs either. I could sprint for 14th place but ended up 23rd.”

Still, the European champion from Soudal Quick-Step is hoping for a surprise. And why not? The sprinter is in top form. “A podium in Roubaix would be a dream. But the thing is: I don’t have much to fall back on. I finished second in Gent-Wevelgem recently, but I had already been sixth and eighth there before. I knew a podium was within reach. In Roubaix, I’ve got zero results to fall back on.”

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Merlier in the yellow jersey of Paris-Nice

"Bert and I don't need words"

De Cauwer highlights the positioning of Merlier and his trusted lead-out man, Bert Van Lerberghe, as a key weapon: you don’t see them all race, and then suddenly, there they are. “We often hear it on the radio: ‘Where are you guys?’ Bert and I don’t need to speak during a sprint. We’ve known each other since we were twelve and we see situations the same way. Back when we weren’t even on the same team, we’d still often be in the same spot in the peloton. Bert thought I was targeting him, and I thought the same about him. ‘Hey, you again?’ He does the same things I would do as a lead-out. Bert is great at picking the right moment, he knows exactly when to go.”

The two Flemish riders understand each other perfectly. They're also not afraid to improvise in the final moments of a sprint. “During the sprint setup, sometimes I take the inside of a corner and Bert goes around the outside, suddenly I’m in front of him. I look back at Bert and see he’s launching his effort. I let him go, but instead of immediately following, which, as a sprinter, you’re normally supposed to do blindly. I let one or two riders slide in between us. Because I feel it: it’s too far, he won’t be able to sustain that effort long enough. That’s pure instinct, but it’s something I often get right.”

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Merlier became European champion in his own country

'Leader' Merlier: "There's still a domestique in me"

By now, Merlier might just be the sprinter to beat. But the 32-year-old from East Flanders wasn’t always the top rider he is today. As a cyclo-cross racer, he came up short, and his road career also had a pretty rough start. He’s a true late bloomer, with a lot to thank his fighting spirit for. “I had to fight for my spot. A lot of people seemed to think for a long time that I only won races by accident. Maybe because I underestimate myself. And then the outside world picks up on that easily.”

But even now, he’s not fully used to his status. While he is a team leader in his Belgian squad, he still finds it hard to fully step into that role. “On the road, I’m the designated leader now, but there’s still a domestique inside me. I’m not like Wout van Aert, who naturally has that leadership vibe: ‘This is how we’re going to do things today.’ I do have my own ideas about the race, but I don’t always voice them or I’ll leave the final decision to the sports director.”

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Remco Evenepoel and Tim Merlier: both going to the Tour de France.

Merlier to Tour: "Should have tried this two years ago"

But the legs speak for themselves. Merlier is now someone you simply can’t leave out of the big race, not even the Tour de France. Soudal Quick-Step is taking the plunge by sending both him and Remco Evenepoel to La Grande Boucle. “Honestly, I think we should’ve tried it two years ago. Back then, I was set to go to the Vuelta, but in the end, Remco went. We could’ve already evaluated it there, does it work or not?”

Lead-out man Van Lerberghe is coming along too, and that’s all Merlier says he really needs. The rest of the team can be built around the two-time Olympic champion. “We’re not going to be climbing mountains for Remco, but we can complement each other. A GC team rides every stage up to the 3 km mark to keep the leader at the front. That’s where we can hitch a ride. In the chaos of the Tour, that could make life a bit easier for us.”

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