Patron winner for the first time on the Tour de France The day before in Laval, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) was expected this Sunday as the big favorite to sign a perfect weekend and the double to Châteauroux, historical bastion of sprinters and kingdom of a certain Mark Cavendishtriple winner here. But at the end of a 9th stage run at a mad look (more than 50 km/h on average!) And much more animated than expected due to the number of Jonas Rickaert et Mathieu van der Poelthe latter having been taken up just after the red flame, the Italian Golgoth has finally undergone the law of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), as in Dunkirk. The disappointment was necessarily present in a protocol interview after the arrival, even if the wearer of the green jersey continues his beautiful harvest of points and confirms his tunic with now 227 points on the clock (against 156 at his dolphin Tadej Pogacar).
Video – Jonathan Milan beaten but still in green after the 9th stage
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“Obviously I expected something better, but …”
“It was a rather difficult step I must say. It was surely a little crazy to let two riders go as strong, we tried to stay as close as possible“, Admitted Jonathan Milan. “We really fought for that. We had to use all the guys to put me in good position in the last kilometers, because of the parts with side wind. So it was a fairly difficult sprint. This 2nd place … Obviously I expected something better, but sometimes it's like that. Of course I was worried about my jersey with Mathieu Van der Poel in front. Let someone go as hard as him was not the best idea … and we saw him. We assumed all the responsibility for the pursuit to take it back, and caught it at the end. Merlier also resumes a lot of points with his victory, so we will continue to fight for this green jersey as much as we can“, He concluded.
