​AP, Bordeaux, France — Belgian rider Tim Merlier seized the seventh stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Friday, while race favorite Tadej Pogacar clung to the leader’s yellow jersey. Merlier, guided into a shooting position to unleash his sprint by his Soudal Quick-Step squad, timed his launch to perfection and claimed his fourth Tour stage win.
Pogacar, a four-time Tour champion, finished safely with the peloton alongside two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, his closest rival. He maintained a 2 minute, 42 second advantage atop the general classification over Vingegaard. Pogacar had earlier reclaimed the yellow jersey from Norwegian rider Torstein Traeen with a bold, attacking ride in the Pyrenees on Thursday’s sixth stage. Traeen had crashed during that stage; though he completed the route, he subsequently withdrew from the Tour after medical tests revealed multiple rib fractures and a concussion.
Stage 7 covered a predominantly flat 175-kilometer (109-mile) course from Hagetmau to the wine-rich city of Bordeaux. In the oppressive heat that surged to 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) amid a heatwave sweeping the country, French rider Baptiste Veistroffer and Czech racer Jakub Otruba formed a brief two-man breakaway. The pair were reeled in with 18 kilometers remaining as the chasing teams positioned their lead sprinters for a potential victory.
Veteran Mathieu van der Poel drove hard to lift Jasper Philipsen into the lead with 250 meters to go, but Philipsen could not sustain the challenge as Merlier surged past him. Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold took second place, while Eritrean Biniam Girmay finished third. All three crossed the line together in 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 20 seconds.
Stage 8, scheduled for Saturday, is another sprinter-friendly day that finishes in the southeastern city of Bergerac. The Tour will culminate with its traditional Paris finish on July 26.