Milan wins Tour stage 17 in sprint finish

Jonathan Milan boosted his points tally from 251 to 312 on Wednesday

Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory of this years Tour de France by winning a wet sprint finish on stage 17.

A bunch sprint was expected on the 160.4km stage from Bollene to Valence and with 4km remaining, the peloton caught the final rider from a four-man breakaway.

Rain was pouring for the final 30km and Milans sprint rivals Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay were involved in a crash just inside the final kilometre.

Milan then proved too strong for Jordi Meeus as the 24-year-old Italian strengthened his grip on the green jersey for points classification leader.

The Lidl-Trek rider stretched his lead by 61 points to give him a 72-point advantage over reigning champion Tadej Pogacar.

Wearing the yellow jersey, Pogacar crossed safely in the peloton and there was no change in the top 10 of the general classification standings - so the three-time Tour winner maintains his overall race lead of four minutes 15 seconds.

"We still have some tough days that await us, the climbs," said Milan. "But at the moment, weve had a lot of fun, and Im really happy with how its going.

"Well keep fighting for the intermediate [sprints] and on the last day for the stage, but well see how it goes. We have a bit more distance with the points and Im a bit more relaxed, but I will keep fighting."

Wednesdays stage could be the final opportunity for sprinters to triumph this year - as Sundays finale in Paris, which traditionally favours the fast men, features the Montmartre climb shortly before the finish so it could scupper their chances.

Milan, who is making his Tour debut having previously won the green jersey twice on the Giro dItalia, had already claimed his maiden Tour win on stage eight.

But with Pogacar closing on him in the points race, Lidl-Trek were caught out on Tuesday as Milan was out of position to contest the intermediate sprint.

This time, they ensured he was at the front of the peloton for the sprint, claiming 11 points after the breakaway, and the team helped Milan recover as he was dropped on the first of two categorised climbs.

The Lidl-Trek riders then played their part to reel in the lead group, from which Jonas Abrahamsen attacked with 12km to go, only to be caught by the peloton with 4km remaining.

The wet conditions made for a treacherous finish and although Milan avoided the crash, it put some of his rivals out of contention as he sprinted to the line.

"This is a really fantastic team victory and I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart," Milan added.

"I survived with the help of my team-mates. Without this, I would not be here. They delivered me in the best position [for the finish]."

The battle for the yellow jersey is set to continue on Thursday with the first of two gruelling mountain stages in the Alps.

The 2025 Tour de France ends in Paris on 27 July