Belgian Tim Merlier wins the eighth stage of the Tour de France

Paris, July 11 /QNA/ Belgian Tim Merlier claimed his second consecutive victory after dominating the final of the eighth stage, a sprint stage, of the Tour de France today, while defending champion Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey for the overall leader.

Merlier began outside the competition in part of the final stage after losing his position at the front of the pack, but he launched a powerful sprint from a long distance, overtaking all his rivals to cross the finish line first ahead of Eritrean Biniam Girmay, while Dutchman Olav Kooij finished third.

With this victory, Merlier increased his tally to five stage wins in his third participation in the Tour de France, and also reduced the gap to just 15 points with Danish Mads Pedersen, the leader of the green jersey standings for the best sprinter.

The eighth stage, held in the Dordogne region famous for its thousand castles and ancient cave paintings, was expected from the start to be decided by a final sprint.