Italy’s Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year’s Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint in the 17th stage on Wednesday.
Milan prevailed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go, as riders went down on slippery roads in a rainy finish in Valence. Biniam Girmay was attended to by race doctors after a crash with 1km to go.
Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader’s yellow jersey. France’s Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau, as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italy’s Vincenzo Albanese, broke away early but stood little chance against the collective power of the sprinters’ teams.
With the peloton breathing down their necks, Abrahamsen went solo with 11km remaining, only to be reined in 4.3km from the line. Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen, who were second and third, respectively.
Thursday’s 18th stage is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour.
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