Victory in Rome feels "strange" for Merlier: "Everyone was already drinking beer on the plane"

Tim Merlier impressively won the final stage of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday. The Belgian of Soudal Quick-Step proved to be the fastest sprinter in Rome, once again outpacing Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek in a head-to-head duel.

Merlier began the flash interview with a mea culpa. "It wasn't a perfect sprint and I have to apologize to the guys. I couldn't quite follow them in the chaos, and I didn't have the best legs, so we did it a bit casino-style. Towards the end, I wasn't with my lead-outs Bert Van Lerberghe and Luke Lamperti, at least not within two kilometers from the finish," said the Belgian.

"I saw that Bert wanted to move forward, but I wasn't behind him. For that, I must apologize, but luckily I was still able to grab the victory for the team," said the lightning-fast man, who secured his third sprint victory in this Giro d'Italia.

Van Lerberghe confirmed this. "It was a very hectic sprint, where Lidl-Trek managed to pull forward. How they did that was incredible. Tim told me he wanted to do it like Nokere, coming from a bit behind. It's been an amazing Giro for us. I don't think we could have dreamed of more."

Merlier thinks victory in Rome is special

Merlier made his move a few hundred meters from the finish. "I had the idea, together with Bert, to start the sprint around fifth place and then go for a long sprint so that I could hit the cobbles at speed. That's also how I've done it several times at Nokere Koerse, which also finishes on cobblestones. I did that and it worked," Merlier explained with a big smile.

"What does this mean? It's a big win for everyone, but for me, it feels a bit strange. Everyone was already drinking beer on the plane on Saturday, but we still had to race. It started off calm, but at the end, it really went full throttle. That makes it quite a special stage, but as a sprinter, it's a very nice victory."

With his victory in Rome, Merlier matched his total with major rival Milan at three each. "But who the sprint king is, that's for you to decide. I don't know if I'm a better sprinter now," he addressed the journalists at the press conference. "I'll read about it in the newspaper," Merlier winked. We likely won't see him in action at this year's Tour de France. His team, Soudal Quick-Step, is going with Evenepoel in that race. "It wasn't that I started with extra pressure due to a lesser spring, because I myself had a good spring. I just do my thing, also heading into the Giro."