Belgian champion out-sprints Theuns, Menten ahead of breakaway heartbreak
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Tim Merlier wins the 2023 Nokere Koerse(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Tim Merlier wins Danilith Nokere Koerse for a second year in a row(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Alex Colman of Team Flanders-Baloise competes in the breakaway(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Rory Townsend (Team Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and Adam De Vos (Human Powered Health) lead the breakaway(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Jannik Steimle of (Soudal-QuickStep) competes in the peloton during Danilith Nokere Koerse 2023(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
The peloton rolls across 193.6km during the 77th Danilith Nokere Koersefrom Deinze to Nokere(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Dries De Bondt (left) and Alpecin-Deceuninck working at front of the peloton(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep competes in the peloton(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
A general view of the peloton during Danilith Nokere Koerse 2023(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step on the local finish laps(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
A general view of the peloton during the 77th Danilith Nokere Koerse(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Ireland's Rory Townsend of Team Bolton Equities Black Spoke on a section of cobbles(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Jasper De Buyst of Lotto Dstny attacks with 23km to go(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Great Britain's Samuel Watson of Groupama-FDJ attacks with under 12km to race(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
(L to R): Adam De Vos of Human Powered Health, Rory Townsend of Team Bolton Equities Black Spoke, and Enekoitz Azparren of Euskaltel-Euskadi compete in the breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Tim Merlier strikes again for another victory at Danilith Nokere Koerse(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Alex Colman of Team Flanders-Baloise on the podium for the sprint prize(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Final men's podium (L to R): Edward Theuns of Trek-Segafredo on second, place race winner Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep and Milan Menten of Lotto Dstny on third place(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) stormed to victory to retain his title at Nokere Koerse, outsprinting Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny) at the end of a crash-hit finale at the 193km race.
The Belgian champion hit the front of the much-reduced peloton around the final bend on the cobbled rise to the line in Nokere and couldn’t be beaten as he and what remained of the group sprinted to the line.
In the closing metres, Theuns and Menten behind him couldn’t get close to the 30-year-old, who went on to celebrate his fifth win of the season.
Of the 171 riders who started the day, only around 20 were left at the front at the end of four-and-a-half laps of the closing circuit based around the Nokereberg climb. Crashes at 3km to go and 1300 metres out decimated the peloton, which was hot on the trail of late attackers Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech), Gianni Vermeersch (Lotto-Dstny), and Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ).
It looked as though the trio might stay away to contest the finish following the first mass crash 3km out, but even the second coming together didn’t put off the sprinters at the head of the peloton.
In the end the catch was made at a painful 300 metres to go, just as the riders hit the Nokereberg cobbles.
As the trio were swept up, Merlier grabbed the mantle, taking it up at the front to go long and capture prime position for the final bend at 150 metres to go. Theuns and Menten behind had no answer to his turn of speed, and so he sped away to a 28th career victory.
Earlier in the day it was bad news for Team DSM sprinter Alberto Dainese, who crashed hard and headed to hospital before the breakaway was even formed. Once it did, Etienne van Empel (Corratec) was among a seven-man move which also included 2021 winner Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal WB).
The group had little chance of staying away to the finish, though, and they’d last until the 30km to go mark before the peloton swept them up just before the penultimate pass through the line.
Attacks from Lotto-Dstny pair Jasper De Buyst and Victor Campenaerts as well as Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal-QuickStep) and an active Vanmarcke followed. Campenaerts’ adventure quickly came to an end, however, as he slid out on a sharp corner.
De Buyst would make a solo move at 23km to go, lasting out front until the 12km mark as Soudal-QuickStep led the chase. Groupama-FDJ neo-pro Samuel Watson countered, lasting until the 5km mark, at which point Vermeersch, Vanmarcke and Pithie made their move.
They never gained more than around 10 seconds on the chasing peloton, but it looked like their luck might be in with the spate of crashes hitting the group behind. It wasn’t to be, though, and Soudal-QuickStep would be able to savour their hard work with Merlier finishing off the job to grab their 13th win of 2023 and first at the race since Fabio Jakobsen’s triumph in 2018.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. They write and edit at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
