UAE Team Emirates-XRG champion rider Tadej Pogacar remained on course for a fifth Tour de France title as he retained the overall lead after Stage 7, which was won by Tim ⁠Merlier (Soudal ​Quick-Step).⁠Belgian rider ⁠Merlier triumphed in ⁠a crowded sprint to win ​on Friday, beating Soren Waerenskjold to the finish line with a thrilling final charge in Bordeaux.Merlier paced the stage perfectly in the hectic final kilometres before a big acceleration to the finish line.“For a long time I was following Jasper (Philipsen, Alpecin-Premier Tech) but I lost him,” Merlier said.“Then I got a bit more space and some time to give the legs a bit of air, then in the last 600 metres it was boxing again. I thought to myself ‘are we going to fight to the finish?’ I’m happy I could take it.”Four-time champion Pogacar ⁠held on to the yellow jersey with no change to the top of general classification.On Thursday, Pogacar had produced one of the great performances in recent Tour history as he won Stage 6 to regain the yellow jersey despite starting the day a staggering seven minutes and 53 seconds off the lead.Meanwhile, Soudal Quick-Step rider Bert van Lerberghe had abandoned the race before the 175.1km flat ride from Hagetmau to Bordeaux. Merlier had said he would try to win the stage in his teammate's honour.Merlier stayed in the bunch, closely following fellow sprinter Philipsen as Baptiste Veistroffer ​and Jakub Otruba attacked immediately after the official ‌start.The peloton began to ⁠reel in the breakaway leaders after ​the short climb to Cote de Beguey. With 18km ​to go, ‌the bunch had caught up after trailing Veistroffer and Otruba for 157km.Late breakaway ⁠attempts from Uno-X Mobility riders were quickly thwarted by the peloton, ⁠which went into the last five kilometres in Bordeaux.In the final kilometre, Philipsen briefly led the sprint with an attack, but could not keep up when Merlier ​made his move, finishing fifth as Biniam Girmay took third place.“It was a mess to be in position. But I made ​it, thanks to the team,” said Merlier, 33, after the fourth Tour de France stage win of his career.“We were the only team with Alpecin who were riding to bring the breakaway back so I’m happy that it’s not another team who won.”The race continues on Saturday with another flat stage, a 180.4km ride from Perigueux to Bergerac. Stage 7 1). Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): 3:44:202). Soren ⁠Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility): same time3). Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team): same time4). Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team): same time5). Jasper ⁠Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech): same timeOverall leaders1). Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 24:56:172). Jonas Vingegaard (Team ⁠Visma-Lease a Bike): +2:423). Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): +3:274). Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA): +3:305). Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) L +3:34