Tour de France: Merlier Scores His Third Win, but What a Scare at the Finish: A Bad Crash Triggered by Gaviria
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Tim Merlier claimed his third stage victory at the 2026 Tour de France, winning the stage that took the riders from the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to the city of Chalon-sur-Saône, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. The Belgian rider from Soudal Quick-Step finished ahead of Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Premier-Tech) in a sprint marked by a nasty high-speed crash involving Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), which took down about ten other riders 350 meters from the finish line.
