By Vincent Daheron
BORDEAUX, France, July 10 (Reuters) - Belgian Tim Merlier triumphed in a crowded sprint to win stage seven of the Tour de France on Friday, beating Soren Waerenskjold to the finish line with a breakneck final charge in Bordeaux.
Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) waited for his opportunity as Waerenskjold was led out for the final push by his Uno-X Mobility teammates, and launched an attack in the last 200 metres to overpower the Norwegian.
Four-time champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
retained the yellow jersey and his lead in the quest for his third straight title.
"It was a mess to be in position. But I made it, thanks to the team," said Merlier, 33, after the fourth Tour de France stage win of his career.
"We were the only team with Alpecin who were riding to bring the breakaway back so I’m happy that it’s not another team who won."
Fellow Soudal Quick-Step rider Bert van Lerberghe had abandoned the race before the 175.1km flat ride from Hagetmau to Bordeaux, and Merlier had taken to Instagram to say that he would try to win the stage in his teammate's honour.
Merlier stayed in the bunch, closely following fellow sprinter Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), as Baptiste Veistroffer and Jakub Otruba attacked immediately after the official start.
The peloton began to reel in the breakaway leaders after the short climb to Cote de Beguey, and with 18km to go, the bunch had caught up after trailing Veistroffer and Otruba for 157km.
Late breakaway attempts from Uno-X Mobility riders were quickly thwarted by the peloton, which went into the last five kilometers in Bordeaux with a speed of over 60km per hour.
In the final kilometer, Philipsen briefly led the sprint with an attack, but could not keep up when Merlier made his move, finishing fifth as Biniam Girmay took third place.
The race continues on Saturday with another flat stage, a 180.4km ride from Perigueux to Bergerac.
(Reporting Vincent Daheron; Writing by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)
