The scrape of carbon across tarmac cut through the final 400 metres of Stage 12. Fernando Gaviria had been fighting for a line beside Olav Kooij when their shoulders met. Kooij held his bike upright. Gaviria did not.
His fall tore through the bunch behind him, swallowing Søren Wærenskjold, Dorian Godon, Jenno Berckmoes and several more riders. Within seconds, bikes and bodies covered much of the road into Chalon sur Saône.
Only around 15 riders escaped on the right. Tim Merlier was among them. He powered up the final drag, beat Kooij and Jasper Philipsen, and claimed his 3rd victory of the 2026 Tour de France.
Behind the sprint, race leader Tadej Pogacar had to unclip and stop at the pileup. He escaped injury and retained his position in the general classification.
Merlier celebrated another commanding finish. The peloton counted the damage. Gaviria and Berckmoes both suffered broken collarbones, while other riders reached the line with shredded clothing, deep abrasions and teammates holding them upright.
One Touch Closed The Entire Road
The final approach had already pushed every rider’s concentration to its limit. Corners, roundabouts, road furniture and narrow sections repeatedly disrupted the sprint trains before the road rose through the final 500 metres.
Riders fought to hold wheels and protect their lines as the speed increased. Several bends remained between the bunch and the finish, leaving almost no room for those trying to move forward.
A speed bump sat shortly before the crash, but video footage ruled it out as the trigger. The incident began when Gaviria and Kooij contested the same strip of road. Their shoulders touched, Gaviria lost control, and the riders directly behind had no time to brake or change direction.
Wærenskjold and Godon hit the ground first. The chain reaction then consumed Berckmoes and riders from several other teams. Those deeper in the bunch received slightly more warning, but many still crashed as the available road disappeared.
The pileup forced Pogacar to unclip and stop. Riders delayed by the blockage received the same time as the main group under the protected sprint finish regulations, preventing the crash from altering the overall standings.
Crossing the finish offered no immediate relief. Gaviria cradled his left arm as a teammate pushed him beyond the line. His skinsuit had torn open where he struck the road. Godon needed support from Kevin Vauquelin, with the left side of his jersey shredded and his race number partly torn away.
Wærenskjold, Jonas Abrahamsen and Anthon Charmig were all caught in the crash, leaving Uno X Mobility manager Thor Hushovd to survey damage across his team. Wærenskjold had won Stage 11 only 24 hours earlier. Now he was covered in cuts after sliding across the road at close to 80 km/h. Hushovd captured the scale of the incident plainly, saying, “Half of the bunch got knocked down in a very fast final.”
Merlier Turns Survival Into A Hat Trick
Merlier still had to finish the job. The crash opened the road on the right, but Kooij and Philipsen remained upright and close enough to challenge.
The Belgian stayed calm as the sprint fractured around him. He accelerated through the available space and carried his speed up the rising finish.
His positioning reflected the lessons of the previous stage in Nevers, where traffic had boxed him out of contention. This time, he followed the movement near the front and waited for a clear opening. Once the space appeared, he launched without hesitation.
Kooij crossed in 2nd despite the earlier contact with Gaviria, while Philipsen completed the podium. Merlier’s victory followed his earlier successes in Bordeaux and Bergerac. It was his 3rd win in the opening 12 stages and the 6th Tour de France stage victory of his career.
The result confirmed Merlier as the dominant pure sprinter of the 2026 race. It also showed how quickly a sprint can split into 2 separate realities.
Merlier found open road and another victory. Most of the peloton found nowhere to go.
Broken Bones Reshape The Peloton
Medical examinations confirmed a fracture in Gaviria’s left collarbone, ending the Colombian sprinter’s Tour. Berckmoes suffered the same injury and required surgery in Belgium. Both riders were ruled out before the start of Stage 13.
Godon avoided a fracture but carried heavy abrasions and muscular pain in his back. Liam Slock suffered wounds to both elbows and his right hip. Wærenskjold, Abrahamsen and Charmig also sustained multiple cuts and abrasions.
The physical toll immediately reshaped several teams. Caja Rural lost its main sprint threat. Lotto Intermarché lost Berckmoes before the race entered harder terrain. Uno X went from celebrating its Stage 11 winner to assessing 3 injured riders in a single afternoon.
At sprinting speed, one movement can open a path to victory or leave an entire line of riders with no escape.
Merlier left Stage 12 with a hat trick and 6 career Tour victories, while the same split second sent Gaviria and Berckmoes out of the race with broken bones.
READ MORE – Tim Merlier Survives Bordeaux Chaos To Win Tour de France Stage 7
FAQs
Who won Stage 12 of the 2026 Tour de France?
Tim Merlier won ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen. It was his third victory of the 2026 Tour.
What caused the Tour de France Stage 12 crash?
Fernando Gaviria and Olav Kooij touched shoulders while fighting for the same line. Gaviria fell and triggered a chain reaction behind him.
Which riders broke their collarbones in the crash?
Fernando Gaviria and Jenno Berckmoes suffered broken collarbones. Neither rider started Stage 13.
Did Tadej Pogacar lose time because of the crash?
No. Pogacar stopped at the pileup, but protected sprint-finish rules gave delayed riders the same time as the main group.
How many Tour de France stages has Tim Merlier won?
Merlier now has six career Tour stage victories. Three came during the opening 12 stages of the 2026 race.
