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

Tim Merlier and Nokere Koerse, is there a better relationship? The Belgian from Soudal-Quick Step clinched victory for the third consecutive time at Nokere on Wednesday, with an impressive sprint, finishing several bike lengths ahead of the rest. However, that outcome didn't seem likely just a few hundred meters earlier...

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."

Merlier laughs after hat-trick in Nokere

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."

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An emotional victory for @MerlierTim 🥰

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