After Magnier on Saturday, dominant Merlier secures Soudal Quick-Step’s 999th victory in Brussels

The one-day race around Brussels is the kind of race that can go either way. The course does not seem too difficult, but the roads constantly go up and down. In addition, there are also some cobbled sections in the final. Many sprinters saw their chance, but last year, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) proved that an attacker could also win this race.

It took a while before a breakaway managed to get away from the peloton, but eventually, no fewer than eight riders opened up a gap. Among them was Jelle Johannink (Unibet Tietema Rockets). The Dutchman was joined by Cyril Barthe (Groupama-FDJ), Theodor Clemensen (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto), Alessandro Iacchi (Solution Tech - Vini Fantini), Baptiste Vadic (TotalEnergies), Petr Kelemen (Tudor), and Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB). A large group started the Wall of Geraardsbergen with a nice lead.

The iconic cobbled climb was conquered 116 kilometers from the finish, but later in the race, the riders would have to tackle it twice more. At that point, the leading group still held a lead of just over three minutes, but the finish was approaching, so the peloton, led by Lotto, continued to close in. On the second passage of the Wall, Abrahamsen and Arnaud De Lie showed themselves at the front. Eventually, a strong group managed to break away from the peloton.

Abrahamsen was there, but De Lie was not. At the front of the pack were Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty), Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL), Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Arjen Livyns (Lotto), and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). That group caught up with the leaders, and on the final passage of the Wall, it became clear who the strongest riders were. Abrahamsen pushed hard, and only Planckaert and Van Dijke kept up. However, the peloton was not far behind.

With 50 kilometers to go, the trio had a half-minute lead, but De Lie and Biniam Girmay's men were working hard in the peloton. Not in that group: Tim Merlier. The European champion had been dropped on the climbs. Later in the race, when it flattened out a bit, he was able to find his way back to the front. Soudal Quick-Step also joined the chase, and suddenly, things looked very gloomy for the men at the front.

However, they were all fast riders at the front, so the sprinter teams had their work cut out for them. They started with a few riders on the Rosweg, a 2.2-kilometer cobbled section. The gutters on the side of the street did not make it too difficult, though. The breakaway riders were able to extend their lead slightly. On the Heiligekruiswegstraat, the last official climb of the day, they were joined by Cedric Beullens (Lotto).

Nevertheless, with just over nine kilometers to go, the peloton came back together, and it looked like we were heading for a sprint finish. Cériel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB) tried to prevent this with an acceleration, as did Eddy Le Huitouze (Groupama-FDJ) and Jonas Geens (Flanders-Baloise). Still, the three adventurers could not shake off the peloton, which had picked up speed.

So it came down to a sprint in the Belgian capital, with the Uno-X riders looking best placed. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Picnic PostNL, and Intermarché-Wanty were well positioned at the front. However, it was Merlier who ultimately proved to be by far the fastest. The European champion sprinted to victory with ease, finishing bike lengths ahead of Renard and De Lie, who came second and third, respectively. This was Merlier's 999th victory in the history of (the predecessors of) Soudal Quick-Step.