Tim Merlier of the Soudal–Quick Step team claimed his second consecutive stage victory at the 2025 Tour de France on Saturday, overpowering a full sprint field to win the eighth stage from Périgueux to Bergerac, a town in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. The 33-year-old Belgian crossed the line ahead of Biniam Girmay, with Dutch rider Olav Kooij — winner of stage five — taking third place. Tadej Pogačar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
The 180-kilometre stage offered few serious climbs, with only two minor fourth-category ascents on the route, making it a near-certain sprinters' day from the outset. A three-man breakaway — Liam Slock, Thibault Guernalec, and Jakub Otruba — attempted to stay clear of the peloton, but the sprinters' teams kept the gap under control throughout. Slock proved the most resilient of the escapees, cresting the day's second climb alone and pressing on with just under a minute's lead at the ten-kilometre mark. However, with the peloton closing in on the winding final three kilometres, the lone Flemish rider was caught approximately 1.5 kilometres from the finish line.
The sprint setup appeared to favour Jasper Philipsen, who was delivered to the final straight in near-perfect position by his Alpecin teammate Mathieu van der Poel — one of cycling's most accomplished leadout riders. Kooij also looked well-placed in the slipstream. Merlier, by contrast, had lost significant ground after the final bend with 500 metres to go, appearing boxed in and out of contention. What followed was a demonstration of exceptional raw speed: the Belgian burst through the field and surged past his rivals to take the win, his fifth Tour de France stage victory overall and his second in as many days.
The back-to-back victories underline Merlier's standing as one of the most dangerous sprinters in the peloton this Tour. His ability to recover from a seemingly compromised position in the final sprint and still overpower riders with superior positioning highlights not just his speed but his tactical resilience. With the overall classification unchanged, attention now turns to whether the route ahead will offer further opportunities for pure sprinters before the race heads into the mountains.