Merlier wins crash-marred 12th stage of the Tour de France, Pogacar retains overall lead

CHALON-SUR-SAONE, France (AP) — Belgian rider Tim Merlier earned another stage win at the Tour de France while several riders fell as they sprinted to the line Thursday.

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages.

It was Merlier’s third stage win on this year’s Tour and sixth of his career. Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium was third.

With riders fighting for position on the home straight, Colombian Fernando Gaviria went down after clipping the wheel of another cyclist and fell to his left, bringing Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold — Wednesday's stage winner — down with him. Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their handlebars.

None of the riders appeared seriously injured and Gaviria eventually crossed the line with the help of a teammate.

Later Thursday, the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team said the 31-year-old Gaviria sustained a fractured left collarbone and had pulled out of the race.

“There was a lot of chaos and a mix of teams at the front of the peloton,” teammate Stefano Oldani said, describing the crash. "I saw him lying on the road next to two Lotto (team) riders and I realized straight away that he’d taken a nasty hit.”

Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place.

Pogacar had extended his overall lead Tuesday after another trademark attack in the 10th stage.

Stage 12 was a mostly flat 179-kilometer (111-mile) route starting from the Magny-Cours track, which once hosted Formula 1 races, and ending in Chalon-sur-Saône in eastern France.

Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer forged ahead on his own until he was caught by a group of 14 riders heading into the last 30 kilometers. They were caught by the hard-chasing peloton soon after, and just before the third of three minor climbs.

With teams looking to place their sprinters into the best position to attack it was a nervy approach to the finish line.

Philipsen's Alpecin-Premier Tech team put three riders at the front to help him but they attacked too soon, as they did in previous stages, and Philipsen is still looking for his first victory at this year's race.

Merlier said having his wife and young son at the race “gave me a lot of motivation.”

"Winning for them is special,” Merlier said. “I managed to find the opening, I had to stay calm and wait. It was a finale and a finish that suited me very well.”

Friday's 13th stage is the longest of this year's race at 206 kilometers and features a sharp Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category in the Tour — toward the end.

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Riders sprint to the finish line of the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours and finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey crosses the finish line of the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours and finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Riders sprint to the finish line of the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours and finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours and finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours and finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points to her WNBA single-season scoring record as the Indiana Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx 96-77 on Tuesday night.

Indiana kept alive its faint hopes of earning the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and home-court advantage in the first round for at least one more day. It also prevented the Lynx from clinching the No. 1 seed, at least until after Golden State plays later Tuesday.

Mitchell extended her league record to 27 consecutive games with 20 or more points by making a 3-pointer with a little more than two minutes to play. Aliyah Boston added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Fever.

Chloe Bibby scored all of her 15 points on 3s for Minnesota. Liatu King finished with 12 points on a night the Lynx were without Olivia Miles. The record-breaking rookie was a late scratch because of an injured left calf, and her absence clearly had an impact. Miles broke Clark's single-season scoring record by a rookie on Sunday.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said she almost held Miles out Sunday against Connecticut and that they would take the injury day by day. Reeve also opted to bench her starters for most of the final 2 1/2 quarters because she didn't want to risk other injuries after Indiana's fast start.

Indiana took control with a 14-2 run to close the first quarter while opening up a 31-16 lead. The Fever extended the margin to 38-18 quickly in the second quarter and led by as much as 57-28 the first half.

But Minnesota spent the rest of the night charging back. The Lynx — playing their backups — finally cut the deficit to single digits late in the third and when Aari McDonald drove past a defender for an uncontested layup, the deficit was 71-64 at the end of three.

The Lynx were still within 74-66 with 8:15 left, but Monique Billings made two free throws before baskets from Clark, Mitchell and Boston made it 82-66 and the Fever pulled away late.

Lynx: Hosts Indiana on Thursday in their regular season finale.

Fever: Closes out their regular season road schedule Thursday at Minnesota.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) fouls Indiana Fever forward Myisha Hines-Allen, right, in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) defends Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) drives on Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) and Minnesota Lynx forward Liatu King go for a loose ball in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)