Tim Merlier powers to victory in stage 12 of the Tour de France 2026 as crash disrupts the finale

Chalon-sur-Saône — Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) claimed victory in the twelfth stage of the Tour de France 2026, prevailing in a bunch sprint thrown into turmoil by a chain-reaction crash inside the final 400 metres. The Belgian beat Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), all credited with the same time of 3h38'53".The raceToday's stage was marked by a high-tension finale. Approximately 400 metres from the finish, Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) went down after a shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Olav Kooij, triggering a domino effect that brought down several riders. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) and Dorian Godon (Netcompany Ineos) were among the first to hit the ground, followed by other riders from Lotto Intemarché and Picnic PostNL. The road was partially blocked, but Merlier, moving up on the right-hand side, managed to avoid the crash and launch his winning sprint. Only about fifteen riders escaped the pile-up unscathed. Godon appeared among the most distressed, remaining on the ground for a few moments, while Gaviria, despite hitting his head hard on the asphalt, was standing and conscious. General classification leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was forced to stop due to the incident but suffered no consequences. The crash occurred inside the final 5 km, so all riders involved were awarded the same time as the winner.Stage 12 resultsTim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) — 3:38'53"Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) — s.t.Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) — s.t.Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) — s.t.Milan Fretin (Cofidis) — s.t.General classificationTadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) keeps the yellow jersey with a time of 43h04'01", leading Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) by 3'36" and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by 4'06". In the points classification, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) holds the lead with a 45-point advantage over Biniam Girmay. Pogačar also tops the mountains classification with 42 points, while Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) leads the young rider standings ahead of Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) by 13".The race continues tomorrow with the thirteenth stage.