New Delhi, July 11 -- BORDEAUX - The sprint was decided in the final hundred meters, a gap opening between Tim Merlier and the field that held all the way to the finish line. Soudal Quick-Step had their first stage win of the 2026 Tour de France, and the Belgian team that has built decades of racing identity around sprint victories finally had a day that matched its reputation.

Stage 7 started without one of Thursday's survivors. Norwegian climber Torstein Traeen withdrew before the peloton left Hagetmau, ruled out after the concussion and multiple rib fractures he sustained in the descent from the Col du Tourmalet the previous day. The peloton rolled out of Hagetmau carrying that weight, the first stage of the Tour's second week beginni...