Four Riders Tie for Stage 12 Win After Late Crash at 2026 Tour de France

Belgium's Tim Merlier won stage 12 of the 2026 Tour de France in a sprint finish that ended in a late crash. He completed the 3 hours 38 minutes 53 seconds ride ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen, both finishing at the same time. Merlier started his move from behind the leaders after several teams tried unsuccessful attacks earlier in the stage.

Heavy rain and shifting winds had already disrupted the middle section of the route. A crash by Fernando Gaviria in the final kilometres brought down additional riders, including stage 11 winner Soren Waerenskjold. "Today I was really focused on the guys who were boxed in yesterday.

I found some space and I launched," Merlier said. He added that the victory felt special because his wife and young son were watching from the roadside. Merlier had previously won stages 7 and 8 this year.

The result leaves him fourth in the points classification behind Mads Pedersen, who still leads Biniam Girmay by 40 points. Tadej Pogacar retains the yellow jersey with a cumulative time of 43 hours 4 minutes 1 second. Jonas Vingegaard sits second at 3 minutes 36 seconds back, followed by Remco Evenepoel 4 minutes 6 seconds behind.

Stage 13 heads into hilly terrain toward Belfort. Stages 14 and 15 end with mountain finishes, while stage 16 is an individual time trial. Stage 17 offers the next realistic chance for sprinters.