Jonathan Milan narrowly escaped a big crash on wet roads and charged to the finish line to win Stage 17 of the Tour de France. Wednesday was another characteristically chaotic day of this year’s Grande Boucle. But Milan and Lidl-Trek yet again handled the ever-evolving circumstances with aplomb to secure their second stage win of the Tour, and strengthen their chances of holding onto the green jersey all the way to the final podium in Paris.
This year’s sprint stages have been particularly hectic compared to past Tours. Traditional lead-outs have been practically non-existent, as high-powered breakaways and adverse weather conditions wreak havoc on the peloton. As was the case on Stage 9, Lidl-Trek’s would-be sprint train was forced to spend most of its energy chasing down a dangerous breakaway at the front of the peloton, before leaving Milan to do his superhuman best in the closing meters of the race.
“I’m without words, I have to say, after surviving. I didn’t survive alone. I survived always with the help of my teammates,” Milan said after the race. “I really have to emphasize this, because without all this, I would not be here. Maybe I would be already dropped on one of the climbs. With the help every single day of my teammates, we achieved this result.”
Quinn Simmons deserves special mention for his turns at the front of the peloton. The young American national champion kept a four-man breakaway of Mathieu Burgaudeau, Vincenzo Albanese, Quentin Pacher and Jonas Abrahamsen within safe distance by driving the pace of the peloton for much of the 160-kilometer/100-mile stage. He also helped control the pace of the peloton after Milan briefly appeared to be in danger after falling off the back of the day’s first Category 4 climb. Lidl-Trek got the green jersey over the second Category 4 climb safely and well-positioned throughout the day’s final 40 kilometers.
Good thing, because persistent rain set in at that point, and combined with roundabouts to make the closing kilometers treacherous. Just as riders were going under the 1k-to-go banner, a rider just behind Milan appeared to lose traction and crashed sideways into another rider, causing a pile-up that held back many of the Tour’s fastest finishers, including Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier.
“It was a difficult final also because of the weather, and having to come through the roundabouts in the first position,” Milan said. “And I was a bit scared, I have to say. But [my teammates] helped me, they supported me. And this is really a fantastic team victory. I really have to thank them with the bottom of my heart. Super, super happy for all of us.”
Milan deftly surfed the wheels of his rivals in a reduced bunch from that point, launching the winning move from third position to best second-place Jordi Meeus by a wheel. With the win, Milan secured 50 points towards the Points Classification, and solidified his hold on the green jersey with four stages remaining in this year’s Tour. He also took 11 points after finishing fifth — the fastest rider behind the four-man breakaway — at the intermediate sprint point.
Milan’s closest competition for the green jersey is the current yellow jersey bearer, Tadej Pogačar. The uber-talented Slovenian rider is putting together a campaign to potentially win all three of the Tour’s major jerseys — yellow for the General Classification winner, polka-dot for the King of the Mountains, and green. But now with a 72-point lead in the Points Classification, Milan has a healthy buffer even if Pogačar is able to win the coming two mountain stages and hilly stage ahead of Sunday’s finale in Paris.
The competition is far from over — Milan will struggle with the elevation gain the next three days, and Pogačar is a uniquely talented cyclist capable of winning on just about any stage profile. But if Milan and Lidl-Trek can perform well in the intermediate sprints early in those climbing stages, they’ll be in good shape to win the team’s second straight Points Classification in a Grand Tour, following Mads Pedersen’s sterling campaign in the Giro d’Italia.
“We will keep fighting, every day, for intermediates and then the last day maybe for the stage,” Milan said. “We will see how it will go. Today we have a bit more of a distance with the points. I also have to say I’m a bit more relaxed [laughs]. But yeah I will keep fighting. I will keep trying to achieve as many points as I can.”
A wild Tour — especially if you’re a sprinter — is approaching the home stretch with Milan and Lidl-Trek in the driver’s seat for the famed green jersey. There’s a lot of work left to do, but the lights of Paris are coming into view.
Stage 17
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 3h25’30”
- Jordi Meeus (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) +00”
- Tobias Lund Andresen (Team Picnic PostNL) +00”
GC
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 61h50’16”
- Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) +4’15”
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) +9’03”
