BERGERAC, France — The 2025 Tour de France delivered another dramatic day of racing Saturday, as Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier notched a fifth career Tour de France stage victory and a second consecutive win with a perfectly timed sprint finish on Stage 8, while defending champion Tadej Pogačar retained the overall race lead and the iconic yellow jersey. The 180-kilometer route stretching from the southwestern French town of Périgueux to southeastern Bergerac played out under sweltering, record-breaking temperatures, part of the ongoing heatwave that has gripped western Europe during this year’s race.
Four-time Tour champion Pogačar finished safely within the main peloton alongside his biggest overall contender, two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, and preserved his commanding 2-minute 42-second advantage over Vingegaard in the general classification. Pogačar’s young teammate Isaac del Toro remains in third place overall after eight days of racing.
Speaking on the grueling heat conditions that tested every rider in the peloton, the Slovenian champion emphasized the extreme challenges of racing in high temperatures. “Just like every day, a lot of water and keep cooling the body down,” Pogačar said after finishing the stage. “The body gets tired in the heat. Definitely we need to be careful and keep cooling down, take care of nutrition, hydration.”
The sprint finale mirrored the dynamics of Stage 7, with Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel putting in a hard early effort to position his teammate Jasper Philipsen for the run to the line. However, the team’s attack launched too soon, opening the door for Merlier to navigate a chaotic sprint that nearly ended in a crash, before timing his finishing kick to perfection to cross the line first.
“I needed to fight for my position all the time … I almost crashed, thought it was over,” Merlier told reporters after the stage. “In this heat it was a really difficult effort.”
Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay claimed second place in the stage, while Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished third. All three top sprinters clocked the same official stage time of 3 hours 52 minutes and 50 seconds.
The extreme heat has already forced changes to the race’s upcoming schedule. Tour organizers announced Saturday evening that Sunday’s Stage 9, originally planned as an 185.5-kilometer hilly route from Malemort to Ussel in central France, will be shortened by 30 kilometers to 155.5 kilometers. The adjustment comes after the local department hosting the stage was placed on red heat alert, prioritizing rider safety amid dangerous high temperatures. This year’s Tour de France will conclude with its traditional final stage finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 26.