Stage 12 of the Tour de France was overshadowed by drama: a heavy pile-up rocked the peloton in the final kilometers in Chalon-sur-Saône, but Tim Merlier and the front group escaped unscathed.
The Soudal Quick-Step rider raised his arms in triumph to claim his third stage win of this Tour. Olav Kooij (Decathlon-CMA CGM) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) filled the podium places.
For Max Kanter and the other German sprint hopefuls, the Kaiserslautern rider’s seventh place as best German again left them empty-handed. With the mountains looming, Germany’s sprint win chances are fading fast. After a disappointing 15th place the day before, Merlier on the other hand again showed his class in the bunch sprint, confirming his status as this Tour’s top sprinter.
The stage began on the legendary Magny-Cours F1 circuit, where Michael Schumacher still holds the lap record. The race started quietly, with Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) going solo off the front before being joined by a trio, but the break never threatened the sprint finish. In the frantic finale, riders like ex-time trial world champion Filippo Ganna tried to force gaps at the front, while Georg Steinhauser also launched a futile attack. The Côte de Montagny-lès-Buxy, 20 km from the finish and one of three category-4 climbs, ended any further breakaway ambitions before the sprint trains reeled it all back in.
The GC remains unchanged: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) keeps the yellow jersey with a 3:36 lead over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), despite Vingegaard suffering a puncture. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) stays sixth, 4:44 back.
Lipowitz provided a light moment when he tried to hit a roadside target with his water bottle and missed, joking: “That’s why I quit biathlon.”
Friday marks the end of the flat stages: Stage 13, the longest of this Tour at 205.8 km, ends in Belfort, with the first-category Ballon d’Alsace offering a chance for the breakaway.
