Ten days after the birth of his son Jules, Tim Merlier honoured the occasion in style with a bunch sprint win at the Tour of Oman. As he crossed the line, he celebrated with a cradle-rocking gesture to make it clear to whom he was dedicating the victory.
The arrival of Jules was only one reason to celebrate after Friday's first win of the season for his new team, Soudal-QuickStep, the Belgian National Champion said.
"It was also [partner] Cameron's birthday on Friday, my mother's the day before and my brother's today, Saturday," Merlier revealed. "So this success goes out to all of them.
"It wasn't easy to leave home but that's the life of a bike rider. I could have tried to hold on at all cost on Friday's hillier course in the Muscat Classic to try and get a win for Cameron yesterday but I knew that would have risked almost all my chances of success for this first stage which we all had checked out. I knew the course route suited me really well."
Almost certainly the only bunch sprint of this year's Tour of Oman, Merlier has hit the bullseye on his second day of racing this season. Although he was on top of his game in the final dash for the line, he said there had been a few moments earlier where the fight for victory had hung in the balance.
"I nearly lost the wheel of my teammates [Bert] Van Lerberghe and [Jordi] Warlop in the last corner, but I knew how to get back on all right. Then when I was on their wheel, I made a sign to tell them to step on the gas.
"I went from quite a way out, but fortunately I had the strength to finish it off."
Multiple family celebrations apart, Merlier had another reason to celebrate the victory in Oman as Van Lerberghe, who made such a big contribution to his win, is his best friend.
"We talked through how we'd handle this sprint during the stage, but just like when we were back in school, he was the one who'd be calling the shots," Merlier added with a laugh. But in the Tour of Oman's opening bunch sprint at least, it was Merlier who had the last word of all.
