Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) sprinted to victory on stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, showcasing his unbeatable turn of speed to win a hectic and fast sprint.
The Italian beat Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) into second, with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finishing third for the second day in a row.
After stage 1’s surprise GC breakaway, it was back on script for the sprinters on Monday with the fast men contesting the finish in Issoire.
Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) attempted a solo move over the final climb with 18km, trying to win a stage in his final-ever road race, and he did get a 20-second gap but doing it alone was too much of an ask, and he was caught with 9km to go.
Milan’s sprint win saw him receive a point bonus, which sees him move into the yellow jersey, ahead of previous race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The two riders are currently on the same overall time with a two-second lead over Van der Poel.
The GC teams Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG were the ones controlling proceedings for much of the finale, trying to keep Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar safe, but once the sprint teams came to the fore, a strong lead-out from Lidl-Trek delivered Milan into the position he needed to be in to gallop to the win.
This is Milan’s first-ever win in France, and a key result before he heads to the Tour de France as Lidl-Trek’s nominated sprinter.
“That was really tough,” Milan said at the finish. “Our goal was to come here to keep building up the condition, and to do some nice results. Yesterday, I have to say, I was really suffering a lot, it was my first race for a long time.
“Today I also suffered a lot, and I was dropped at one point and I was really on the limit, but I have to say thanks to my teammates because they brought me back and guided me until the last metres, they really support me with everything they’re doing so a massive thanks to them. I’m really happy, this brings a lot more to all of us.”
Milan now leads the GC, equal on time with Tadej Pogačar, whilst Mathieu van der Poel is third overall and Jonas Vingegaard dropped down to fifth overall, behind Fred Wright, returning things to normal after Sunday’s GC surprise.
More to come…
Results
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