Merlier explains why it was a little miracle that he won in Nokere: "There was a moment of panic"

Merlier surged from behind with force, but it wasn't out of luxury. In one of the final turns, he found himself caught in a jam. "There was little organization, and there were still anticipated attacks, so I was surprised that we were still sprinting. I was positioned well at the front until I suddenly found myself in my train due to a maneuver by Ackermann."

Merlier managed to stay upright himself, but for a moment, he seemed on the brink of losing touch with the front group. "My chain slipped off briefly, causing some panic. I shouted out that I wasn't with them, but in the end, I managed to catch up with them in the slipstream. Bert (Van Lerberghe, ed.) then made a move to the left, creating a gap, and I did the same as I did for the past two years: launched my sprint from far out and then we'd see."

Afterwards, Merlier was quite emotional for a while, as a teammate went down in the crash. Fortunately, the flash interview ended with a satisfied smile. "It's nice to win here three times in a row, and I'm very satisfied with my sprint this season."