Paris [France], July 24 (ANI): Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won a chaotic Stage 17 of the Tour de France, pipping Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) in a rain-soaked finale in Valence.AdvertisementOn Wednesday, with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) closing in on Milan in the race for the green jersey, Milan’s team was determined to ensure the stage would finish in a bunch sprint and maximise the Italian’s points haul.Although not what Milan would have wanted, that task was made easier by a crash that occurred beneath the flamme rouge banner, with a kilometre to go. Only the front ten riders were completely unaffected, with most of the rest of the bunch impeded by a wall of bodies and bikes. They included the rider most expected to challenge Milan for the stage, Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), who stayed upright but was forced to slow to a standstill and was unable to contest the final sprint.It all came at the end of a short, somewhat punchy stage that wasn’t even guaranteed to finish in a bunch sprint. That it did was almost entirely down to the efforts of Milan’s Lidl-Trek team-mates throughout the stage.Their first task was to restrict the size and make-up of the breakaway. Narrow roads out of Bollene made that an easier one. Once four riders had disappeared up the road, a wall of riders mostly wearing red, yellow and blue appeared at the front, slowing the bunch down and repressing any further efforts to make the jump. Kasper Asgreen (EF Education EasyPost) was the most apparently keen of those who had missed out, but the Danish rider was put in a box and prevented from finding a way through.By the time Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadier) was able to bust out it was too little too late. The Frenchman spent about 20km with his nose in the wind before being reabsorbed into the peloton.It was soon clear that Vincenze Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) were going to be allowed the most limited of leads. Although they worked hard and cooperated well, for most of the afternoon, they were about as invisible as a break could be. Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) was charged with keeping the gap below three minutes, and mostly much less.The first of two 4th category climbs was when Milan and Lidl-Trek found themselves most under pressure. Ineos Grenadiers and Movistar looked to increase the pace with Milan and Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) two of the biggest names cut adrift from the peloton. They could have been permanently distanced had Alpecin-Deceuninck, among other teams, realised sooner that they were the main beneficiaries and been quick enough to take advantage. Although Kaden Groves’ team-mates did eventually come to the front, it was not soon enough to prevent Milan and Merlier from making it back to the front.Once they had, Lidl-Trek retook charge over the peloton and gradually worked to bring the break back at the time of their choosing. The arrival of heavy rain made that a more stressful responsibility but one Jasper Stuyven and Tom Skujins were ideally suited to.Between them they kept Milan close enough to the front to avoid being impacted by any crashes, made more likely by the conditions. When a big accident occurred, directly under the flamme rouge banner with 1km to go, he not only avoided it entirely but later said he was unaware it had even happened. Only ten other riders escaped the incident. They did not include double-stage winner Merlier, or last year’s green jersey, Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty.)In an instant, Milan went from having a good chance of winning to the odds-on favourite. He allowed Davide Ballerini (Astana-XDS) to lead out before launching his characteristic charge for the line. Jordi Meeus was a strong second for his best result since winning in Paris in 2023. Arnaud de Lie (Lotto) might have managed better than 4th had he not checked his effort and clipped Milan’s back wheel, obliging him to abort his sprint to stay upright.Afterwards, Milan paid tribute to his team-mates, “Without them, I would not be here. I would have been dropped on one of the climbs.”Having increased his lead in the points competition to 72 over Tadej Pogacar, and with only five mostly mountain stages left, he can now be confident of wearing the jersey on the podium in Paris, if he is able to make it.”Today we have a bit more distance for the points,” he said, while acknowledging that “there are still some tough days awaiting us. I am happy the way it is going. We will keep fighting for intermediates and then for the last day of the stage,” he said.The yellow jersey group all finished together with none of the main contenders apparently injured. Thursday’s Stage 18 to Courcheval is the most anticipated of the Tour so far. Its 5450m of total elevation gives it Queen Stage status and makes it a crucial battleground in the fight for the yellow jersey.The Tour de France 2025 moves into Stage 18, with the action live on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 19:00 hrs (7:00 PM IST) onwards on Thursday. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)
Tour de France: Jonathan Milan secures Stage 17 win, pips Jordi in rain-soaked finale
