A mass crash on the final kilometre had also taken several riders out of the race. Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) made contact with the rear wheel of Vlad Van Mechelen – who was sprinting for Bahrain - Victorious in place of Phil Bauhaus – crashed and took several riders down with him. Before that, the action was in full swing, though there were no German riders in the top positions. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) finished seventh, whilst Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) came 15th.

Winner Merlier had a clear run over the final 200 metres. If that’s the case, there’s currently no stopping him. However, he also had a special incentive to spur him on towards his 75th victory as a professional: “My son and my wife are here, and that gave me extra motivation. He’s still young, but perhaps he’ll remember this one later on,” said the 33-year-old in his post-race interview, adding: “I wanted to win for them. That’s something special for me. It’s not easy to win on this very day when they’re here, so I’m really delighted.”

Interim sprint between Pedersen and Philipsen sparks debate

Philipsen is likely to have even less reason to be disappointed, having once again failed to capitalise on a perfectly executed sprint lead-out by Mathieu van der Poel. He also had to come to terms with a setback at the intermediate sprint. Mads Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) had won that ahead of the Belgian, but had chosen a line that was controversial to say the least, forcing his rival to stop pedalling. Following discussions in the jury, Pedersen was awarded the 20 points after all; together with those for ninth place, he continues to lead the battle for the green jersey relatively comfortably. Without those points, Philipsen might perhaps have been able to give the green jersey another serious thought.

Otherwise, everything remained the same for him in Chalon-sur-Saône. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) remains the undisputed overall leader and King of the Mountains, whilst Juan Ayuso (Lidl – Trek) is the best young rider. From tomorrow, the race heads into the Vosges, before moving on to the Alps. The sprinters’ stages are therefore over for now.

2026 Tour de France – Results of Stage 12

This is how the 12th stage of the 2026 Tour de France unfolded

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After yet another blistering start, it took more than 25 kilometres for the peloton to allow a breakaway. Once again, it was Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto - Intermarché) who, just as on Stage 5, battled alone ahead of the peloton. His pursuers allowed him a lead of up to two minutes – until the intermediate sprint.

There, after Pedersen broke away from the peloton to win ahead of Philipsen and Merlier – albeit by taking a questionable line – his lead shrank to just over a minute. Shortly afterwards, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain - Victorious), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and Ewen Costiou (Groupama - FDJ United) capitalised on a small surge, broke away from the peloton and rode to the front to join Veistroffer, who was waiting for them.

Veistroffer will only receive support for a short time

As a quartet, the new leading group extended their lead back to 1 minute 30 seconds, but that was all the peloton could manage. However, with 60 kilometres to go, the group split as their lead had halved. Veistroffer and Costiou carried on fighting, whilst Caruso and Vercher dropped back into the peloton. Shortly afterwards, it all became too much for Costiou as well, leaving Veistroffer once again to fight on his own.

But even the brilliant Frenchman eventually ran out of steam in the sprint. The pace levelled off around the 30-kilometre mark, when Lidl–Trek suddenly overtook the peloton with a series of attacks from the rear. EF Education – EasyPost and Netcompany INEOS, in particular, joined in, resulting in a constant barrage of attacks right up until ten kilometres from the finish. Hardly any real gaps opened up, however. The team failed to achieve its aim of shaking off a few sprinters – Merlier in particular – ahead of the final stretch.

After all, the remaining stretch to the finish line proceeded in a fairly orderly fashion. The sprint trains formed up and were able to get their fast riders into position. Even Merlier, who had to settle for riding on the back wheels of other riders towards the end, was well positioned right up until the very final stages. And when the 33-year-old is in position and has a clear run on this Tour, there’s no stopping him.