Jonathan Milan sprints to stage 1 win at Renewi Tour 2024 as Merlier & Groenewegen crash at the line

In a bunch sprint finish on stage 1 of the 2024 Renewi Tour, Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan has powered to the win from a world class field of sprinters in Bilzen.

Five riders got themselves in the breakaway of the day on stage 1, with four Belgian and Frenchman up the road. With such a star studded sprint field however, their hopes were never really very realistic. With just under 17km to go, the breaks hopes were finally ended.

From there, the expected sprint was all but guaranteed. Sadly for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Olav Kooij wouldn't be taking part though after a crash in the final 15km left him bloodied. In the fight for the line, Mathieu van der Poel was leading out the sprint but when the world champion pulled over, not Jasper Philipsen but Jonathan Milan took the win. A little behind, Tim Merlier and Dylan Groenewegen curiously crashed over the line.