Jonathan Milan of Italy powered to his second stage victory in this year’s Tour de France on Wednesday, emerging from a chaotic, crash-marred finish to win Stage 17 in a rain-slicked sprint.
The Lidl-Trek rider surged ahead in a reduced 10-man sprint after a major pileup scattered the peloton just 1 kilometer from the line on the slippery roads of southeastern France.
Eritrean star Biniam Girmay was among those caught in the crash and required medical attention from race doctors.
Tadej Pogacar stayed clear of the carnage and safely crossed the finish to retain the overall race lead and the coveted yellow jersey.
"I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. After surviving the ascent to Mont Ventoux on Tuesday, I didn't survive alone," said Milan, who holds the green jersey for the points classification.
"I survived all this with the help of my teammates. I really have to practice this because without all this I would not be here. Maybe I would have already dropped on one of the climbs of the day.
"So, with the help every single day of my teammates, we achieved this result. Today was a really tough stage. We controlled it from the beginning, of course, with the help of some other teams. But they helped me also when I dropped – in the first climb, in the second one – they really did a good pace."
Frenchmen Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau, as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italian 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 11 kilometers remaining, only to be reeled in 4.3 kilometers from the line.
Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen, who finished 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 de France.
