After the Champs-Elysées in Paris, a stage win in Bordeaux is one of the top prizes for sprinters at the Tour de France. The 2026 edition marked the 82nd time the race has visited the city in the country's southwest, and its surrounding geography – largely flat and open terrain, with few climbs of note – all but ensures a fast finish.
And with the Champs likely off the sprinters' menu again this year due to the inclusion of the Montmartre climb circuit for the final stage, that elevates Bordeaux to top status. Another factor: Rules tweaks for the points competition that award a whopping 70 points to the winner of "obstacle-free" stages that are the race's flattest (more on this in a moment). All of that set up an almost-certain bunch gallop and that's what we got on Friday. But the finish raised several questions around the sprints and the points competition.
Kit Nicholson
Will a dominant sprinter emerge this year?
Yes, it's only two sprint stages in (another one looms tomorrow) but so far there's almost no pattern to who has good form and who doesn't. The most consistent finisher so far is today's winner, Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step). He was third on stage 5 as well. Meanwhile Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin-Premier Tech stuffed it up today and Philipsen looks a long way off the dominant form he's showed in at the 2023 and 2024 Tours.
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