"I should not have pulled out of the Giro after two weeks": Milan Fretin reflects on a season marked by costly mistakes

Milan Fretin was one of the very few positive news for Cofidis in 2025. The young Belgian rider had a strong first half of the season, in which he claimed three victories (Clásica de Almería, Ronde van Limburg and a stage of the Volta ao Algarve) and several podium finishes in important races.

The second half of the season, however, did not go smooth at all. “Up until the Giro, I can indeed be very happy. But after that, we also made some mistakes,” Fretin said in an interview to Sporza.

The first, in his view, was leaving the Giro d’Italia early. With Cofidis fighting relegation, the team opted to withdraw Fretin after two weeks so he could chase UCI points in June one-day races. A strategy that proved unsuccessful in the end, as Cofidis lost the World Tour licence.

“I should not have pulled out of the Giro after two weeks,” he explained. “Because of that, I didn’t get a proper rest period, and I noticed it in the finales of those one-day races. Mentally, I wasn’t fresh enough. The result was that in the races after the Giro, I picked up little to no UCI points.”

A second setback followed in early July, when Fretin went on an altitude camp in Italy. “I trained incorrectly,” he admitted. “We now know that I prepare better in sunny Spain. That suits me better than high mountains.”

Those experiences have shaped his plans for 2026, a season in which Fretin aims to take another step forward. His spring programme will be very similar to that of 2025, with a focus on classics where he will be aiming for victory.

“In the spring, I will more or less ride the same programme as last year,” he said. “Mainly classics like Nokere Koerse, where I can play for the win.”

The 24-year-old is also targeting progress in bunch sprints, in which he aims to take a step forward in 2026. "My stage win in the Tour of the Algarve gave me a lot of confidence. Especially when you see who I beat there (Meeus, De Lie, Girmay, and Van Aert)."

To close the gap to the very top sprinters, Fretin plans to have some leadout, which wasn't the case last year for some reason. “Last year I was often on my own in the sprints, but now I will always have two fixed lead-out riders with me: Piet Allegaert and Alex Kirsch.”

He has also spent more time in the gym this winter. “To improve my acceleration and explosiveness,” Fretin explained. “I realise that sprinters like Philipsen and Milan are faster than me in the final 200 metres. That remains a work point.”

A direct comparison with Jasper Philipsen could come soon, as Fretin expects to make his Tour de France debut this summer. “Normally, I will ride the Tour for the first time,” he said. “That’s a childhood dream coming true. But if you’re on the start line of the Tour, you naturally have to dream of more.”