4 : ANOTHER BIG ONE IN THE BAG!
Scoring a commanding victory in Bordeaux this Friday, clocking an average speed of over 70 km/h in the final kilometre, Tim Merlier claimed the fourth Tour de France stage win of his career. The Soudal – Quick-Step rider began his tally in 2021 on Stage 3 in Pontivy, before raising his arms in victory twice last year, in Dunkirk and Châteauroux. With this win in the "sprinters' capital", the former European champion boasts an impressive win-to-podium ratio, having missed out on victory only once when reaching the podium, finishing third in Pau earlier this year.
4 + 4 : TOUR AND GIRO, SAME BATTLE, SAME RESULTS
Taking the win in front of the Place des Quinconces, Tim Merlier also secured his eighth Grand Tour stage victory. He now has as many wins in the Tour de France as in the Giro d'Italia. In Italy, the sprinter had already prevailed in Novara in 2021, and in Fossano, Padua and Rome in 2024.
40 : THE "WOLFPACK" ROARS
Soudal – Quick-Step's winning streak in July shows no signs of stopping. Tim Merlier's victory means the team has now won at least one Tour de France stage every year since 2013, a streak spanning fourteen consecutive editions. It all began with Mark Cavendish's victory in Marseille that year, and no other team can match that achievement. Visma – Lease a Bike, under its various names, has won a stage in each of the last ten editions (since 2017). UAE Team Emirates – XRG has extended its own streak, thanks to the victories of Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro, which now dates back to 2020. Meanwhile, Alpecin-Premier Tech hopes to continue the momentum established during its Tour debut in 2021, marked by stage wins from Mathieu Van der Poel and Tim Merlier, who was then racing in the team's colours.
68 : SLOVENIA IS INCREASINGLY DECKED OUT IN YELLOW
With a statistic like that, Slovenia could almost consider adding yellow to its coat of arms. Thanks to Tadej Pogačar, who remains the overall leader after Stage 7, the Eastern European nation has now collected no fewer than 68 Yellow Jerseys, all since 2020. That total has been achieved over just 133 stages. With more than half of all Yellow Jerseys awarded during that period, Slovenia is the most prolific nation of the last seven editions, ahead of Denmark (29) and the Netherlands (10). The three countries that have worn the Yellow Jersey most often in Tour history—France (668), Belgium (455) and Italy (216)—have collected just 5, 6 and 0 respectively over the same period.
57 : BORDEAUX'S LUCKY NUMBER?
Firmly holding the top spot in the general classification, Tadej Pogačar is wearing the Yellow Jersey for the 57th time in his career in Bordeaux. By a remarkable coincidence, it was in this very city that Miguel Indurain also claimed his… 57th Yellow Jersey, back in 1995! The number seems closely tied to both the Tour and the city of Bordeaux, as Soudal – Quick-Step also celebrated the 57th Tour stage victory in its history there, across all of its previous team names.
24 : BORDEAUX BELONGS TO BELGIUM
Belgian riders continue their dominance in Bordeaux. Thanks to Tim Merlier, the "Flat Country" now boasts 24 victories in the Gironde capital. After Joseph Van Dam paved the way in 1926, many compatriots followed, including "The Cannibal" Eddy Merckx (4 victories), Walter Godefroot (3), Freddy Maertens (1) and Jasper Philipsen in 2023. Belgium has now widened the gap over France (21 wins in Bordeaux) and the Netherlands (12).
497 : THE SYMBOLIC MILESTONE IS WITHIN REACH
Belgium is edging ever closer to the symbolic mark of 500 Tour de France victories. Tim Merlier's success represents the nation's 497th stage win, the first since Wout van Aert triumphed in Paris on last year's final stage. Belgium's tally began with the opening stage of the 1909 Tour, won by Cyrille Van Hauwaert in Roubaix. Eddy Merckx remains the country's greatest contributor, with 34 victories.
2 : VEISTROFFER FOLLOWS VAN AERT'S LEAD
After spending 157 kilometres at the front of the race alongside Jakub Otruba during today's stage from Hagetmau to Bordeaux, Baptiste Veistroffer was voted the "Most Combative Rider of the Day" for the second time in this Tour de France. The Lotto – Intermarché rider had already claimed the award on Stage 5 to Pau following a remarkable solo breakaway. With two combativity awards in just seven days of racing, the Breton rider matches Belgian Wout van Aert, who also received the honour on Stages 5 and 6 of the 2023 Tour.
