Sprinter turned climber? Jonathan Milan comes alive on final climb at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana: "I always rode at the limit today"
Cycling
Renowned as one of the top sprinters in the world, Jonathan Milan took on an unexpected role as a climber today! During the fourth stage of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025, Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious claimed victory, seizing the overall lead from Joao Almeida in a surprising result. However, the bigger surprise was that Milan securing second place, finishing just six seconds behind.
Milan is rarely satisfied with second place, but excelling on a demanding climb is not typically part of his skill set.
“I had to let go a few times today, I think even three times,” Milan shared with Eurosport following the uphill finish. “But the team always brought me back. I always rode at the limit today, really the whole day.”
Teammate Jakob Söderqvist also played a crucial role, providing a strong lead-out for Milan in the steep final kilometre. “I started there in a good position, it was clear that Jakob had good legs. He also made a gap 500 metres from the finish, I saw that he felt better there. But then I saw Santiago Buitrago coming from behind. He was really going super fast,” Milan recounted.
“Then I chose my own pace in the last 400 meters towards the finish,” he added.
Milan acknowledged the teamwork that set him up for success. “I had a strong team that worked well. Now the focus is on tomorrow,” he said, referring to the opportunity to sprint for victory on tomorrow’s stage. Milan will be the favourite tomorrow, and showed today that he is starting the year in very strong form.
The year 2025 promises to be a significant one for Milan. Having won the points classification in the last two editions of the Giro d'Italia, he is set to make his Tour de France debut, where he will challenge Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay for the prestigious green jersey.
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- Exactly, my thought too. Ganna is multi-talented, but a great descender he is not. He was gapped and overtook on the descend by Pidcock last year.
KerisVroom22-03-2025 - You nailed it Mr S.Cyclingsbestfan22-03-2025
- Now everybody knows about it Mads! Compressed brocoli? I know it is supposed to be good for you, but is high on my list of least favourite vegetablesCyclingsbestfan22-03-2025
- Again Armstrong posts get so much more response than any other posts on this site, and it is you guys that are making it easy for them to post more about Armstrong. Just check over the last 6 months and you will see the response is over 10x over other posts. Stop complaining and do not post or hit the like button, you are playing right into there hands.
Senna196022-03-2025 - i realize that Tommy knows VOLUMES more about his craft than i do, and i realize he maybe wasn’t bothering to give the most highly thought out answers of all time here, BUT… if mathieu gets to the TOP of the poggio first, how exactly is it that GANNA gets to the BOTTOM ahead of him? maybe the “frame pump in the spokes” trick from Breaking Away? ganna isn’t exactly what you’d call a gifted descender, and i’ve noticed mvdp is a PRETTY DECENT bike handler at any speed, not too shabby at cornering and accelerating… I’m glad tom feels good, though. it’ll be a really fun race. (but if van der poel DOES get to the top first, it’s over.)OCexile21-03-2025
- Don't think patience is something Tadej understands, he'll go when he feels its right to goslappers6621-03-2025
- And the final answer is …….MAYBE!mobk21-03-2025
- Agreed. Am Slovenian but she's strange rider, either the terrain fully suits her and she can be a leader or she's completely useless riding at the backvappaxbipmv21-03-2025
- My thoughts as well. The constant insertion of Armstrong, Bruyneel and even Hincrapie into news stories tends to give it away.
ScottG21-03-2025 - just because others were doping doesn't really excuse what LA was doing, especially how ruthless he was towards others. Can we just stop listening to him and his pals already?Crashjames21-03-2025