"My goal was to triumph again in my first race of 2023" - Jonathan Milan succeeds in opening goal of the season at Saudi Tour

Jonathan Milan was no unknown in the sprints after last year's prowess late in the year, however the biggest victory of his road career has came today at the Saudi Tour as he directly beat Dylan Groenewegen in the final sprint.

“Last year I ended the season with two victories and my goal was to triumph again in my first race of 2023 individually or with the team," Milan said in a post-race interview. Yesterday the team worked for Dusan Rajovic's second place, but today the Serbian sprinter sacrificed himself for Santiago Buitrago who had been dropped in the crosswinds.

"Yesterday we pulled the card from Dusan and finished second, although I couldn't help my teammate due to mechanical problems. So now I could sprint myself," the Italian explained. With Buitrago safely in the peloton Milan managed to get himself in the wheel of Groenewegen, and launched his sprint first, but most impressively kept enough speed to take it in the line in front of the race leader, an unexpected win.

“I am very happy with this. I am also very grateful to the team for the support. The next days I will sacrifice myself completely for the classification men within our team," Milan concluded. He will have another opportunity to succeed tomorrow, however the team will be looking out aswell for defending champion Buitrago who has a suiting finale.