Tim Merlier has won his second consecutive sprint stage, coming from the back of the bunch to assert his claim on the green jersey.As the peloton turned the final corner onto the finish, the Soudal Quick-Step rider was so far behind edged out on the corner that he barely appeared in the television shots. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Premier-Tech) started his final lead-out for teammate Jasper Philipsen, stringing the group out. Merlier was forced to launch early, riding the slipstream and hopping forward, rider by rider.Buoyed by his momentum, Merlier sprung out on the left-hand side, ahead of Philipsen, ahead of Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) and ahead of Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA GCM). As he crossed the finish line, in front by a comfortable distance, he punched the air. I needed to fight for my position all the time until the last minute, said Merlier after the race. Before the corner, I was a bit boxed in, and then they almost crashed and I thought it was over. I gave it a try to come back on the guys who did the lead-out, and I was coming with so much speed. It was 250 [metres] then. I gave it a try until the finish, but in the last 50 metres, I couldnt push anymore.Mostly, if you win one [stage], you can win a second. Im happy that on three [sprint] stages, I claimed two of them.Girmay finished second, with Kooij completing the podium. Merliers win puts him second in the points classification, behind Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).More to follow