“In the end Jonathan was stronger” - Jasper Philipsen beaten by Jonathan Milan in a rare defeat at Tirreno-Adriatico

After he took the win on stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico, Jasper Philipsen looked to be in a good position to take his second victory of the race as he opened up his sprint in the finale of stage 4. However, he was unable to hold off Jonathan Milan, who used his immense seated power to surge through a gap between the Belgian rider and Biniam Girmay, before throwing his bike at the line to take the stage win.

This marked a rare defeat for Jasper Philipsen, as the last time that he was beaten in a bunch sprint was at last year’s Renewi Tour. In an interview with Eurosport after the stage, Philipsen conceded that he was just second-best on the day, stating that “I hoped to win, but in the end Jonathan was stronger. He is strong on these types of finishes, so I would like to congratulate him”.

After today’s stage, Philipsen is now second in the points classification, as he trails Milan by ten points with three stages still left to go. However, with back-to-back mountain stages over the next two days, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider will find it difficult to overturn the deficit to the Italian. The final stage around San Benedetto del Tronto marks the last opportunity left for the sprinters at the race, with those currently without a stage win hoping for a strong result.