{"id":387621,"date":"2026-01-02T21:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387621\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T21:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:29:09","slug":"the-races-i-can-win-as-a-sprinter-ive-won-tim-merlier-hints-at-shift-in-goals-with-milano-sanremo-gent-wevelgem-and-paris-roubaix-in-his-sights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387621\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe races I can win as a sprinter, I\u2019ve won\u201d \u2013 Tim Merlier hints at shift in goals with Milano-Sanremo, Gent Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix in his sights"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nIf Merlier\u2019s season was judged purely on numbers, the story would be simple. Sixteen victories speak loudly enough on their own. Yet the result that continues to linger most clearly in his mind is not one of those wins, but a second place in Gent Wevelgem<\/a>, now officially named In Flanders Fields. From Middelkerke to Wevelgem.<\/a><\/p>\n

The context matters. He arrived there carrying the aftermath of a heavy crash at Brugge-De Panne, stitched up and unsure whether starting was even realistic. He was not racing on instinct or dominance, but on grit. \u201cI wasn\u2019t really in the race, but I kept biting down and managed to win the sprint for second place. That position felt like a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a revealing admission. For a rider accustomed to measuring success in clean finishes and raised arms, that moment represented something different. Endurance. Belief. And the sense that certain races offer a reward beyond the result sheet. \u201cGent Wevelgem is an underrated race,\u201d Merlier said. \u201cA lot of riders think it\u2019s a sprinters race, but it opens up early and never really settles down again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the classics still pull him in<\/p>\n

Merlier is realistic about what it would take to win Gent-Wevelgem outright. He does not dress it up as inevitability or destiny. \u201cI need a sprint from a small group and miracle legs. And then I still need to be in the right position.\u201d<\/p>\n

That realism extends to how he views the spring monuments more broadly. Milano-Sanremo<\/a>, for example, remains a race he openly acknowledges sits beyond the practical limits of a pure sprinter in the modern peloton. He has no interest in gambling with extreme training adaptations that could blunt his biggest weapon. \u201cI still believe in the principle that I want to remain a pure sprinter,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the current peloton, Milano-Sanremo is impossible.\u201dYet Paris-Roubaix<\/a> is different. Brutal, unpredictable, shaped as much by positioning and survival as by raw power. It is a race that has never quite aligned for him, but one that continues to occupy space in his thinking. \u201cIn Paris-Roubaix it has never fallen into place to ride for a result, but in my head it\u2019s time to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not to win, he is careful to stress. To contend. To leave with something tangible from a race that increasingly feels unfinished.<\/p>\n

Late success and the freedom it brings<\/p>\n

Merlier\u2019s career arc matters here. He arrived late to the road, built his reputation patiently, and only began stacking elite wins once his foundations were fully set. That late-bloom arc has shaped how he approaches the latter stages of his career. \u201cI won\u2019t take big steps anymore, but baby steps are still possible,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope I can still become better as a sprinter. I work on that every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those baby steps are not about reinventing himself. They are about longevity. About keeping his sprint sharp while allowing room for the occasional deviation in ambition, whether that is Gent Wevelgem or a deeper run into Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n

It is also about appreciation. Being nominated again for the Velo d\u2019Or, even without attending the ceremony, forced a moment of reflection. \u201cYou do realise that you\u2019ve achieved something in your career,\u201d Merlier said. \u201cSometimes you need to stand still and reflect on what you\u2019ve done. But you also realise it could all be over just like that. So you should enjoy it more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead without forcing the end<\/p>\n

Under contract until 2028, Merlier has already allowed himself to look slightly further. \u201cI\u2019d like to stay a pro until 2030,\u201d he said. \u201cThat would be a nice age to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no sense of urgency in his words. No last-chance narrative. If anything, there is calm. He still feels competitive. He still feels curious. And crucially, he still believes his sprint has not dulled.<\/p>\n

Whether that future includes a perfect spring classic, a long-awaited Paris-Roubaix result, or simply more days doing what he already does better than almost anyone else, Merlier seems content with the balance he has found.<\/p>\n

He has proven who he is as a sprinter. Now, quietly, he is exploring what else might still fit.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If Merlier\u2019s season was judged purely on numbers, the story would be simple. Sixteen victories speak loudly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,207868,167052,165754,17833,85,172711],"class_list":{"0":"post-387621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-gent-wevelgem","12":"tag-milano-sanremo","13":"tag-paris-roubaix","14":"tag-soudal-quick-step","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-tim-merlier"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}