Tim Merlier took his first stage win of this year's Tour de France and the fourth of his career on Friday's stage 7 in Bordeaux. The 175.1 km stage from Hagetmau came down to a high-speed bunch kick, where Alpecin-Premier Tech seemed to be in control, only for Jasper Philipsen to find himself at the front a bit too early.
In the end, Merlier surged to the front and left no doubt in the closing meters, taking the victory ahead of Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) and Biniam Girmay (NSN).
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and the other GC riders finished safely in the bunch to close out the stage with no notable changes at the top of the overall leaderboard.
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