Tim Merlier has won his second consecutive sprint stage, coming from the back of the bunch to assert his claim on the green jersey.
As the peloton turned onto the finish of stage eight, the Soudal Quick-Step rider was so far behind —edged out on the corner— that he barely appeared in the television shots. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Premier-Tech) started his final lead-out for teammate Jasper Philipsen, stringing the group out. Merlier was forced to launch early, riding the slipstream and hopping forward, rider by rider.
