{"id":523175,"date":"2026-04-10T10:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/523175\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:52:09","slug":"i-couldnt-keep-watching-from-the-sofa-any-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/523175\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI couldn\u2019t keep watching from the sofa any longer\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nMerlier\u2019s 2026 campaign had been shaped by knee issues and a lack of race rhythm, making his performance at Scheldeprijs<\/a> all the more striking.<\/p>\n

On just his second race day of the season, he delivered a perfectly judged sprint to take victory in Schoten, completing a hat-trick at the sprinters\u2019 Classic. \u201cBut I definitely didn\u2019t expect to win straight away. I knew everything would have to fall into place. And the puzzle pieces came together perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

That result was not just a win, but a signal. Even after a stop-start build-up, Merlier showed he could still navigate a chaotic finale and deliver under pressure. Within hours, the next step followed.<\/p>\n

A decision sparked mid-training<\/p>\n

Merlier\u2019s path to Roubaix was anything but conventional. \u201cI had just finished a six-hour training ride and started to feel better and better. So I sent the team a message saying I wanted to ride Roubaix.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as a personal feeling quickly turned into a serious option. \u201cPretty quickly, it became clear that I was being taken seriously. Everyone was on board; they just wanted to wait for Scheldeprijs before making the final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victory provided the final confirmation.<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/p>\n

Tim Merlier celebrates his win at Scheldeprijs 2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing must, everything is allowed\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike many of the favourites lining up in Compi\u00e8gne, Merlier arrives without pressure. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to it. Roubaix is one of the most beautiful races of the year. It\u2019s a race I always enjoy coming back to,\u201d he says. \u201cWith a win already in the bag, I go into it more relaxed as well. It\u2019s not a last-chance race for me like it is for some.\u201d<\/p>\n

That freedom shapes his approach. \u201cIt definitely won\u2019t be with my best condition. But I\u2019ll see where I end up. Hopefully I can be the perfect teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n

A different kind of role on the cobbles<\/p>\n

Paris-Roubaix is not a natural fit for a pure sprinter, but Merlier is realistic about what he can offer. \u201cThe focus won\u2019t really be on me, so maybe I can anticipate or support riders like Stuyven or Van Baarle,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ll see in the team meeting what\u2019s expected of me. I\u2019ll do that because I take that seriously. But again: everything is allowed, nothing is required.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scheldeprijs provided the spark, but Roubaix presents a completely different challenge. The controlled chaos of a bunch sprint has little in common with the relentless attrition of more than 50 kilometres of cobbles. Yet the confidence gained from that win, and the form behind it, have already reshaped Merlier\u2019s spring.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Paris-Roubaix was not even under consideration. Now, it is the next step. And for a rider who only recently felt he had no choice but to watch from home, that shift says everything.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Merlier\u2019s 2026 campaign had been shaped by knee issues and a lack of race rhythm, making his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,110509,180770,12540,101,114330,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-523175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-paris-roubaix","10":"tag-scheldeprijs","11":"tag-soudal-quick-step","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tim-merlier","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}