Tim Merlier heads into 2026 in excellent form, but the Soudal–Quick-Step sprinter admits he’s watching one development with growing unease. Namely, the artificial climb being constructed beside the Abu Dhabi circuit that will host the 2028 UCI road world championships.
What was once expected to be a flat sprinters’ worlds could tilt heavily toward climbers—and even favour riders like Tadej Pogačar.
“They are working on it,” Merlier said to Domestique, saying that he has seen the hill rise each year during the UAE Tour. The more it grows, the more he fears the race could slip out of reach for fast men. “Every generation of sprinters should get at least one real chance at a world title. I fear that chance will never come for me.”
Fewer chances for pure sprinters
His concern isn’t limited to 2028. As Grand Tours shift toward harder profiles and fewer flat finishes, Merlier sees a broader trend taking hold. “There is a push for fewer sprints in Grand Tours and more spectacle,” he said. Even with six theoretical sprint days in the 2026 Tour de France, he’s not convinced they will survive the final route design. “It doesn’t have to be harder to be beautiful. But who am I? I’m not going to change the race.”
Former Italian pro slams De Vlaeminck’s ‘absurd’ attack on Pogačar
Former pro Marcel Kittel voiced a similar warning on the Domestique Hotseat, arguing that the new era demands sprinters who can ride like climbers. “The trend is going to more diverse sprinters,” Kittel. “The new generation of pure sprinters has to be able to climb better than my generation.”
Kittel on cycling nowadays
Kittel, who is returning to the pro peloton as a sprint coach for Unibet Rose Rockets also said that some of the old problems in cycling may still be there–hopefully only in rare cases.
“I don’t think cycling is clean now. Absolutely not. There will always be people who will try to cheat the system,” he said. “We have to make sure we protect what we have and the progress we’ve made, and make sure these are isolated cases and not a widespread doping system.”
As a sprinter in a sport that increasingly favours climbers and puncheurs, Merlier feels the pressure directly.
Watch Tim Merlier almost get absolutely smoked going the wrong way after finishing Scheldeprijs
“In boxing, lightweights never face heavyweights. In cycling, they do,” he said. “Are we really moving towards routes where only riders up to seventy kilos have a future, and pure sprinters disappear? That would be a shame.”
Still, he’s not tearing up his plans for 2026. The Tour isn’t a guarantee, but he expects to follow a familiar calendar and is optimistic about reinforcements arriving for the team’s sprint train. “On leadout and sprint, several serious additions are coming,” he said, pointing to riders like Alberto Dainese and Jasper Stuyven, along with new staff including Iljo Keisse, Niki Terpstra and Sep Vanmarcke. “We need guys like that.”
Meanwhile, Pogi himself weighed in on rumours of an early retirement. Unfortunately for the pro peloton, and perhaps fortunately for cycling fans, he ain’t going anywhere.
He told Italian journalist Ciro Scognamiglio of La Gazzetta dello Sport, he said the idea he might leave the sport in 2028 “never existed.”
The world champion added he intends to stay with UAE Team Emirates–XRG until his current deal expires in 2030. The team, he added, keeps improving and “feels like a family.”
Furthermore, despite rumours he may begin his 2026 campaign earlier than usual at the Tour Down Under–sounds like that won’t be happening either. Instead, he’ll be kicking things off at Strade Bianche, where he will go for (another) win.