Milan wins Tour stage 17 in wet sprint finish
Jonathan Milan boosted his points tally from 251 to 312 on Wednesday
- Published
Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory of this year's Tour de France by winning a wet sprint finish on stage 17.
A bunch sprint was expected on the 160.4km stage from Bollene to Valence and with 4km remaining, the peloton caught the final rider from a four-man breakaway.
Rain was pouring for the final 30km and Milan's sprint rivals Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay were involved in a crash just inside the final kilometre.
Milan then proved too strong for Jordi Meeus as the 24-year-old Italian strengthened his grip on the green jersey for points classification leader.
The Lidl-Trek rider stretched his lead by 61 points to give him a 72-point advantage over reigning champion Tadej Pogacar.
Wearing the yellow jersey, Pogacar crossed safely in the peloton and there was no change in the top 10 of the general classification standings - so the three-time Tour winner maintains his overall race lead of four minutes 15 seconds.
"We still have some tough days that await us, the climbs," said Milan. "But at the moment, we've had a lot of fun, and I'm really happy with how it's going.
"We'll keep fighting for the intermediate [sprints] and on the last day for the stage, but we'll see how it goes. We have a bit more distance with the points and I'm a bit more relaxed, but I will keep fighting."
Wednesday's stage could be the final opportunity for sprinters to triumph this year - as Sunday's finale in Paris, which traditionally favours the fast men, features the Montmartre climb shortly before the finish so it could scupper their chances.
Milan, who is making his Tour debut having previously won the green jersey twice on the Giro d'Italia, had already claimed his maiden Tour win on stage eight.
But with Pogacar closing on him in the points race, Lidl-Trek were caught out on Tuesday as Milan was out of position to contest the intermediate sprint.
This time, they ensured he was at the front of the peloton for the sprint, claiming 11 points after the breakaway, and the team helped Milan recover as he was dropped on the first of two categorised climbs.
The Lidl-Trek riders then played their part to reel in the lead group, from which Jonas Abrahamsen attacked with 12km to go, only to be caught by the peloton with 4km remaining.
The wet conditions made for a treacherous finish and although Milan avoided the crash, it put some of his rivals out of contention as he sprinted to the line.
"This is a really fantastic team victory and I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart," Milan added.
"I survived with the help of my team-mates. Without this, I would not be here. They delivered me in the best position [for the finish]."
The battle for the yellow jersey is set to continue on Thursday with the first of two gruelling mountain stages in the Alps.
- Published10 hours ago
Stage 17 results
Jonathan Milan (Ita/Lidl-Trek) 3hrs 25mins 30secs
Jordi Meeus (Spa/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) Same time
Tobias Lund Andresen (Den, Picnic PostNL)
Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto)
Davide Ballerini (Ita/XDS Astana)
Alberto Dainese (Ita/Tudor)
Paul Penhoet (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)
Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz/XDS Astana)
Clement Russo (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)
Jasper Stuyven (Bel/Lidl-Trek)
General classification after stage 17
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG) 61hrs 50mins 16secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +4mins 15secs
Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +9mins 3secs
Oscar Onley (GB/Picnic PostNL) +11mins 4secs
Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +11mins 42secs
Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels) +13mins 20secs
Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +14mins 50secs
Tobias Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +17mins 1sec
Ben Healy (Ire/EF Education-EasyPost) +17mins 52secs
Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +20mins 45secs
The 2025 Tour de France ends in Paris on 27 July