It's not one of the simplest season starts for Tim Merlier. The Belgian sprinter, coming off his second consecutive season with 16 victories, has been dealing with a bothersome knee problem since December that, after complicating his winter training camp preparation, seemed to be resolving.

However, as reported by Soudal Quick-Step's CEO Jurgen Foré, in recent days the pain unfortunately returned, forcing the 2024 European road champion to stop again and take all necessary precautions.

"It seemed everything was going well, but last Wednesday, at the end of the training camp, he felt pain in his right knee again," the Belgian team's CEO revealed to HLN. "We intervened immediately, we treated the knee again and prescribed ten days of rest for Tim. Next Monday we'll see if the problem is resolved," Foré continued, indicating that the issue temporarily sidelining the native of Wortegem-Petegem is not something too concerning.

"It's not a serious injury. Tim can walk and run without pain, but he suffers when pedaling on the bike. We know the cause, and the medical staff's decision is to adopt a very conservative approach with rest and exercises."

This will force Merlier, after withdrawing from the AlUla Tour where he initially planned to debut this year, to revise his spring plans and, above all, to miss another important series of races (primarily Omloop Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne) before finally being able to pin a number on his back in 2026.

"The Opening Weekend is not feasible because Tim hasn't managed to train for two consecutive weeks without issues. He won't be able to race until mid or late March, but we don't want to fixate on a specific date or race. For now, we're not making any plans: we hope to get medical clearance starting next Monday and that Tim can finally begin his season preparation," Foré hoped, with the team still at zero victories this season, expecting other riders to take responsibility for results and potentially secure significant wins in the upcoming prestigious events.

"The situation is certainly annoying because Tim is a winner who always raises his arms to the sky at the start of the season, but we have other strong riders in our ranks and they now need to step up," Foré pointed out, likely referring to riders like Stuyven and van Baarle who know how to win in the north and certainly have the credentials to race as team leaders.