Tim Merlier won his second successive stage at the Tour de France on Saturday, sprinting superbly to victory in Bergerac ahead of Biniam Girmay and Olav Kooij.But the fact the stage even came down to the expected sprint was in the balance for much of the day after a wonderful performance from Liam Slock. The Lotto Intermarché rider was part of a three-man break that was not allowed more than two minutes advantage, but as his companions dropped back in the latter stages Slock forged on, with panic rising in the peloton as they realised this was not going to be a simple catch.Slock held out brilliantly until just 1.3km of the 180km route was remaining, having given the sprinters’ teams an almighty scare.Jacob Whitehead and Duncan Alexander dissect the stage.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 11, 2026So very nearly from Liam SlockLotto Intermarché have been the most visible team when it comes to breakaways at the 2026 Tour de France. Up until today it has been the Wild Boar of Fouesnant — Baptiste Veistroffer — on duty ahead of the pelotonOn stage eight, though, it was one of Veistroffer’s teammates, Slock, who led the race’s latest escape. Slock had entered the consciousness of many cycling fans after winning the GP Gippingen last month (see section below), but today’s performance is a further step up cycling’s ladder of fame.Breaks have become fairly formulaic in recent years, so no one was expecting much when Slock, Thibault Guernalec and Jakub Otruba got away early in the stage. Slock was clearly the most sprightly of the trio, taking the Côte de Domme KOM, the intermediate sprint and the Côte du Buisson-de-Cadouin KOM as the day unfolded. And he used the last of those moments to forge ahead on his own with just over 40km remaining, and the peloton less than two minutes behind him.But a tailwind along the river Dordogne into Bergerac, along with a huge effort from Slock, saw him hold the peloton at over a minute for much longer than they expected. It took a panicked organization from the sprinters’ teams at the front of the bunch to finally make inroads into Slock’s lead as the kilometers ticked down — but had they miscalculated?Liam Slock almost pulled off a brilliant breakaway win on stage eight (Tomas Sisk Pool / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty Images)Former Tour breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt posted on social media “I think Slock has this one. Gap not coming down fast enough. They underestimated how strong he is,” and by this point almost everyone watching was hoping he could pull it off.But the straight roads allowed the peloton frequent glimpses of their hare, and they doubled down. Slock’s Herculean effort was written across his face but with just 1,300 metres until the finish line he sat up — broken, exhausted, but having added his name to the long list of breakaway heroes created by the Tour de France. Rarely has the day’s combativity award been more deserved.Duncan Alexander
