Merlier wins crash-marred 12th stage of the Tour de France, Pogacar retains overall lead
CHALON-SUR-SAONE, France (AP) — Belgian rider Tim Merlier earned another stage win at the Tour de France while several riders fell as they sprinted to the line Thursday.
Defending champion Tadej Pogacar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages.
It was Merlier’s third stage win on this year’s Tour and sixth of his career. Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium was third.
With riders fighting for position on the home straight, Colombian Fernando Gaviria went down after clipping the wheel of another cyclist and fell to his left, bringing Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold — Wednesday's stage winner — down with him. Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their handlebars.
None of the riders appeared seriously injured and Gaviria eventually crossed the line with the help of a teammate.
Later Thursday, the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team said the 31-year-old Gaviria sustained a fractured left collarbone and had pulled out of the race.
“There was a lot of chaos and a mix of teams at the front of the peloton,” teammate Stefano Oldani said, describing the crash. "I saw him lying on the road next to two Lotto (team) riders and I realized straight away that he’d taken a nasty hit.”
Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place.
Pogacar had extended his overall lead Tuesday after another trademark attack in the 10th stage.
Stage 12 was a mostly flat 179-kilometer (111-mile) route starting from the Magny-Cours track, which once hosted Formula 1 races, and ending in Chalon-sur-Saône in eastern France.
Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer forged ahead on his own until he was caught by a group of 14 riders heading into the last 30 kilometers. They were caught by the hard-chasing peloton soon after, and just before the third of three minor climbs.
With teams looking to place their sprinters into the best position to attack it was a nervy approach to the finish line.
Philipsen's Alpecin-Premier Tech team put three riders at the front to help him but they attacked too soon, as they did in previous stages, and Philipsen is still looking for his first victory at this year's race.
Merlier said having his wife and young son at the race “gave me a lot of motivation.”
"Winning for them is special,” Merlier said. “I managed to find the opening, I had to stay calm and wait. It was a finale and a finish that suited me very well.”
Friday's 13th stage is the longest of this year's race at 206 kilometers and features a sharp Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category in the Tour — toward the end.
The race concludes with its traditional finish in Paris on July 26. ___
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