"I started the sprint a bit too early" - Jonathan Milan holds off Merlier & Philipsen in battle of the sprint elite at the 2025 UAE Tour
Cycling
In a battle of probably the three most feared sprinters in the peloton today, it was Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan who came out on top to emerge victorious on stage 4 of the 2025 UAE Tour, outlasting Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen in a tight finale.
Milan was actually the first of the three to open up their sprints and despite his two Belgian rivals coming up fast in the final few metres, Milan just about held on to take the win. "I started the sprint a bit too early, haha," he admits in his post-stage interview afterwards. "But in the end I was able to make a nice jump. I am very happy with the result. I have to thank my teammates again."
The work of the Lidl-Trek team was indeed key on stage 4 as echelons caused chaos throughout, meaning the likes of Milan had to be at the front and alert for the majority of the day. "The echelons made it interesting, but I like it and it's also important towards the classics. We were always there, we were always ready. When you ride like that with this team, it's almost easy to get good results," he concludes. "The echelons also provided a selection in the sprint. Yes, we have two stage wins, but of course we want more."
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Stage 4 - UAE Tour 2025
| 1 | Milan Jonathan | Lidl-Trek | 04:03:01 |
| 2 | Merlier Tim | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 3 | Philipsen Jasper | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 4 | McLay Daniel | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 5 | Gaviria Fernando | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 6 | Jakobsen Fabio | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 7 | Groenewegen Dylan | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 8 | Bauhaus Phil | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 9 | De Schuyteneer Steffen | Lotto | + 00 |
| 10 | Thijssen Gerben | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 11 | de Kleijn Arvid | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 12 | Rajovic Dusan | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 13 | Zanoncello Enrico | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 14 | Malucelli Matteo | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 15 | Pollefliet Gianluca | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 16 | Kogut Oded | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 17 | Welsford Sam | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 18 | Skerl Daniel | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 19 | Lund Andresen Tobias | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 20 | Pinazzi Mattia | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 21 | Moro Manlio | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 22 | Côté Pier-André | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 23 | Gate Aaron | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 24 | Pedersen Rasmus Søjberg | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 25 | Tarling Joshua | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 26 | Swift Ben | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 27 | van Poppel Danny | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 28 | Behrens Niklas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 29 | Langellotti Victor | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 30 | Märkl Niklas | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 31 | Kajamini Florian | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 32 | Hoole Daan | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 33 | Conforti Lorenzo | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 34 | Bilbao Pello | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 35 | Chaves Esteban | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 36 | Rodriguez Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 37 | Ciccone Giulio | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 38 | Tejada Harold | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 39 | Lemmen Bart | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 40 | Kepplinger Rainer | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 41 | Vermeersch Florian | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 42 | Van Eetvelt Lennert | Lotto | + 00 |
| 43 | Consonni Simone | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 44 | Romeo Iván | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 45 | Raisberg Nadav | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 46 | Pogacar Tadej | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 47 | Bissegger Stefan | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 48 | Colleoni Kevin | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 49 | Goossens Kobe | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 50 | Vine Jay | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 51 | Mezgec Luka | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 52 | Armirail Bruno | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 53 | Lecerf Junior | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 54 | Gall Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 55 | Fisher-Black Finn | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 56 | Riccitello Matthew | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 57 | Van Hoecke Gijs | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 58 | Higuita Sergio | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 59 | Pinarello Alessandro | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 60 | Castrillo Pablo | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 61 | Gonzalez Roberto | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 62 | Rubio Einer | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 63 | Van der Sande Tosh | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 64 | Konrad Patrick | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 65 | Zijlaard Maikel | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 66 | Seixas Paul | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 67 | Onley Oscar | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 68 | Thompson Reuben | Lotto | + 00 |
| 69 | Steinhauser Georg | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 70 | Wilksch Hannes | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 71 | Træen Torstein | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 72 | Lutsenko Alexey | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 73 | Storer Michael | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 74 | Mackellar Alastair | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 75 | Cimolai Davide | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 76 | Petit Adrien | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 77 | Hirt Jan | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 78 | Van Lerberghe Bert | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 79 | Eenkhoorn Pascal | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 80 | Kielich Timo | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 81 | Walscheid Max | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 82 | Reinders Elmar | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 83 | Schelling Ide | XDS Astana Team | + 15 |
| 84 | Heiduk Kim | INEOS Grenadiers | + 21 |
| 85 | Herregodts Rune | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 21 |
| 86 | Fortin Filippo | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 21 |
| 87 | Edmondson Alex | Team Picnic PostNL | + 21 |
| 88 | Craps Lars | Lotto | + 21 |
| 89 | Ghys Robbe | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 21 |
| 90 | Pasqualon Andrea | Bahrain Victorious | + 21 |
| 91 | Mullen Ryan | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 38 |
| 92 | Theuns Edward | Lidl-Trek | + 38 |
| 93 | Rickaert Jonas | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 48 |
| 94 | Donaldson Robert | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 48 |
| 95 | Krieger Alexander | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 57 |
| 96 | Palzer Anton | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 01:10 |
| 97 | Quartucci Lorenzo | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 01:17 |
| 98 | Durbridge Luke | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 01:17 |
| 99 | Petilli Simone | Intermarché-Wanty | + 01:27 |
| 100 | Bastiaens Ayco | Soudal Quick-Step | + 01:27 |
| 101 | Froome Chris | Israel-Premier Tech | + 01:27 |
| 102 | Kolze Changizi Sebastian | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 01:41 |
| 103 | Bjerg Mikkel | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 01:52 |
| 104 | Pedersen Casper | Soudal Quick-Step | + 02:00 |
| 105 | Currie Logan | Lotto | + 02:18 |
| 106 | Cerný Josef | Soudal Quick-Step | + 02:18 |
| 107 | Zwiehoff Ben | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 02:52 |
| 108 | Maciejuk Filip | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 02:52 |
| 109 | Barta William | Movistar Team | + 02:52 |
| 110 | Rootkin-Gray Jack | EF Education-EasyPost | + 03:32 |
| 111 | Novak Domen | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 04:01 |
| 112 | Bouchard Geoffrey | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 04:15 |
| 113 | Su Haoyu | XDS Astana Team | + 04:15 |
| 114 | van den Berg Julius | Team Picnic PostNL | + 04:15 |
| 115 | Sbaragli Kristian | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 04:15 |
| 116 | Leijnse Enzo | Team Picnic PostNL | + 04:15 |
| 117 | Gregaard Jonas | Lotto | + 04:15 |
| 118 | Castroviejo Jonathan | INEOS Grenadiers | + 04:15 |
| 119 | Fiorelli Filippo | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 04:15 |
| 120 | Tarozzi Manuele | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 04:15 |
| 121 | Dillier Silvan | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 04:15 |
| 122 | Price-Pejtersen Johan | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 04:15 |
| 123 | Debruyne Ramses | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 04:15 |
| 124 | Biagini Federico | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 04:15 |
| 125 | van der Meulen Max | Bahrain Victorious | + 04:15 |
| 126 | Ghebreigzabhier Amanuel | Lidl-Trek | + 04:15 |
| 127 | Kluckers Arthur | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 04:15 |
| 128 | Carthy Hugh | EF Education-EasyPost | + 04:15 |
| 129 | Taminiaux Lionel | Lotto | + 04:15 |
| 130 | Leonard Michael | INEOS Grenadiers | + 04:15 |
| 131 | Van Der Lee Jardi | EF Education-EasyPost | + 04:15 |
| 132 | Kuypers Gerben | Intermarché-Wanty | + 05:11 |
| 133 | Samudio Carlos | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 05:21 |
| 134 | Djuric Djordje | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 05:21 |
Two sprints, two wins. Jonathan Milan wins the fourth stage of UAE Tour! 🚀 #UAETour #UAETourhttps://t.co/l330WR1kNQ pic.twitter.com/OUrvZVocf8
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) February 20, 2025
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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