Tim Merlier wins photo finish sprint at AlUla Tour after late crash befalls peloton

There was a dramatic conclusion to stage 4 of the AlUla Tour, with Cofidis' Bryan Coquard wrongly celebrating after a lung-busting showdown with Soudal Quick-Step's Tim Merlier.

The pair endured a painstaking uphill sprint that seemed to go on and on, before both men threw their bikes at the line in an effort to take the stage honours. Having come from behind, Coquard thought he had done enough to enjoy his first win of the season, but the photo finish soon revealed that Merlier had made it two wins as many days.

"I know I can do this long effort, and I tried because I was also in the wind, otherwise it was also not possible anymore to win," said Merlier to Eurosport at the finish.

"If you don't try you can't win, but I am happy it was just enough on the finish. Bryan said he had won, but I was not sure and I am happy I am in this seat now."

Sitting with a mixture of delight, pain and relief etched across his face, Merlier could enjoy the spoils of another tremendous performance, which takes the Belgian sprinter to two wins from four race days so far in 2024.

On stage 3, Merlier had vanquished Tudor Pro Cycling's Arvid de Kleijn and stage 1 winner Casper van Uden (dsm-firmenich PostNL) to take Soudal Quick-Step's first-ever victory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Remarkably, the Middle Eastern state is now the 35th country in which the Belgian WorldTeam have taken a victory since 2003.

For today's finale, however, Merlier would not have to worry about De Kleijn, nor stage 1's runner-up Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla). The latter had been suffering from illness since the second day and the team confirmed his withdrawal ahead of the start of stage 4.

As for De Kleijn, the Dutchman hit the deck along with several other riders with just 6.5km to go of Friday's stage. With the peloton racing along in anticipation of the slightly uphill finish, a touch of wheels had consequences for many riders on the right-hand side of the road.

Alongside De Kleijn, fellow stage hopeful Sebastián Molano of UAE Team Emirates hit the tarmac and was to be ruled out of contention for the finale. Despite De Kleijn's best efforts, a hard-fought chase back into the pack saw him without the legs to finish inside the day's top 10.

Merlier, meanwhile, was undeterred by the crash suffered by his teammate Warre Vangheluwe, with the 31-year-old striking out for home with more than 300m to ride uphill.

"It was a hard exercise in the end, I was in the wind with 400m to go and then Bryan then let me pass in the wheel. So then I decide I go from far, I know I have this in the legs. I think before 300m to go, I go on the uphill finish and now I am really [exhausted]," he said at the finish."

Read more: Simon Yates: I want to try to take it to these super teams

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Bryan Coquard wrongly celebrates after the line, believing himself to have overtaken Tim Merlier at the last

Where Merlier smiled, Coquard was forced to accept his own fate as second place on the day. To counter Merlier's attack on the right-hand side of the road, Coquard rounded his rivals on the left and for a brief moment, looked to have come out of Merlier's slipstream within the final 50m and taken the win.

The Frenchman thought so, at least, pointing to himself after the pair crossed the finish, almost as if to say, 'yes, it was me who crossed the line first.'

The photo finish may have proved the Cofidis sprinter-turned-puncheur wrong in the end, but Coquard ended the stage with a touch of class by approaching Merlier to shake the victor's hand and share a moment of laughter over the situation.

Merlier now takes the lead in the green sprinter's jersey standings ahead of the AlUla Tour's final stage, where attention will turn to the GC favourites atop the Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. Can anybody provide an upset and stop race favourite Simon Yates from taking the much sought-after win for Jayco AlUla?

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