Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 4:18 PM
With a powerful sprint, Jonathan Milan won the opening stage of the Renewi Tour on Wednesday, making him the first leader in the Dutch-Belgian tour. After a warm day, the stage in Bilzen turned into a tough sprint, the Italian explained. “It was really tough and the final was very tough. tricky“, responded the Lidl-Trek sprinter.
“It was hard to stay together in this final and the sprint was also different than usual. It was a bit uphill”, Milan reflects. “I don’t know how far from the finish I started sprinting, but it was very hard and I was tired. But I’m also very happy to start the Renewi Tour like this, in a good way. Now I want to go for a good time trial tomorrow.”
But let’s talk about that sprint, which he started from the wheel of lead-out Mathieu van der Poel, who was committed to Jasper Philipsen. “I was well positioned myself, also because the final was tricky. It was constantly up and down, but I came out well and was able to ride my best sprint. I don’t know how close Philipsen came, but I did see a shadow appear. Fortunately, the finish was fast there,” Milan laughed.
