Tim Merlier Wins Stage 12 of 2026 Tour de France

Belgium's Tim Merlier won stage 12 of the 2026 Tour de France on Thursday after a chaotic sprint finish. Merlier completed the stage from Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saone in 3 hours 38 minutes 53 seconds. Olav Kooij of the Netherlands finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium took third, both at the same time.

Biniam Girmay of Eritrea placed fourth and Milan Fretin of Belgium fifth. Fernando Gaviria of Colombia crashed at the 500-metre mark and suffered a broken clavicle. The incident also brought down Soren Waerenskjold of Norway, who had won stage 11.

Merlier said he focused on riders who had been boxed in the day before. "I found some space and I launched," he said. He added that the win was special because his wife and young son were watching. Merlier had previously won stages 7 and 8, bringing his career total to six Tour de France stage victories.

Tadej Pogacar leads the general classification after stage 12 in 43 hours 4 minutes 1 second, with Jonas Vingegaard second, 3 minutes 36 seconds behind. Thursday's stage offered one of the final clear chances for sprinters before the race moves into hilly and mountain terrain over the next three days.