{"id":1101331,"date":"2026-07-20T21:51:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1101331\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T21:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:51:25","slug":"pro-bike-tim-merliers-tour-de-france-stage-winning-specialized-tarmac-sl9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1101331\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro bike: Tim Merlier’s Tour de France stage-winning Specialized Tarmac SL9"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s one bike that has won over 26% of the stages on the Tour de France 2026 so far. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll save you doing the maths: it\u2019s the Specialized Tarmac SL9.<\/p>\n

Ridden by both Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Soudal Quick-Step, the Tarmac has ended up on the top step of the podium on four occasions already at this Tour de France. Tim Merlier is its most victorious pilot at this year\u2019s race, having won three stage wins from bunch sprints.<\/p>\n

Merlier abandoned the race on Stage 15 with all his sprinting opportunities done. Before he quit the race, photographer Xavier Pereyron managed to shoot the bike that guided the Belgian sprinter to a hat-trick of wins.<\/p>\n

Tim Merlier\u2019s Tour de France 2026 Specialized Tarmac SL9<\/p>\n

The SL9 first broke cover in June before its proper launch<\/a> just a few days before the Tour de France started.<\/p>\n

The most distinct change is the new \u2018Win Fin\u2019, the nickname given to the new seat tube, which is 2mm deeper than before, and follows the shape of the rear tyre. Specialized says the new bike is four watts more aerodynamically efficient than the Tarmac SL8, which was released in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

The one-piece Roval Rapide cockpit is the same as the one stocked on the previous generation Tarmac. However, the head tube is slightly slimmer than before. Those changes are claimed to have cut the frontal area by 10%.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, it’s worth noting the amount of spacers on Merlier’s stem. If ever that was an advert that you don’t need to slam your stem, it’s the best sprinter at the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Merlier was using Specialized’s RapidAir TLR\u00a0tyres. These aero road tyres are claimed to be the fastest in Specialized catalogue due to their clean sidewall design and tread pattern.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

For Merlier’s first day in the Vosges, the Belgian was running 56\/44t chainrings. That big silver bolt above the bottom bracket secures the chain catcher in place.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

The rear triangle is relatively unchanged in the Tarmac SL9. <\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Here he is leading the pack on Stage 12. You can really notice the difference in stack height between him and his opponents. With TT bikes embracing higher positions, should the rest of the sprinters be following Merlier’s lead?<\/p>\n

Sadly, we won’t get to see the bike decked out in green in Paris. Despite Merlier’s advancements in the points classification, the Belgian’s DNF wipes him out those standings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s one bike that has won over 26% of the stages on the Tour de France 2026 so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1101332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,78426,34349,60179,79,16,15],"class_list":["post-1101331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-pro-bikes","tag-soudal-quickstep","tag-specialized","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116954524330790722","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1101331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1101332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1101331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1101331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1101331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}