"Sprints at Tour de France are a bit more chaotic" - Jonathan Milan holds onto green jersey heading into the timetrial

Another positive day in the office for Jonathan Milan who was able to expand his lead in the points classification by securing 11 points at the intermediate sprint. That means the Lidl-Trek sprinter will be rocking a full-body green skinsuit in tomorrow's timetrial.

Speaking to media afterwards, Milan expressed satisfaction how today's stage went for him. "Our goal today was to score as many points as possible in the Intermediate Sprint in order to keep the green jersey, as we knew that the final was a bit too hard for me."

"The approach to the IS was a bit stressful, with a climb and some narrow roads right before it. We had to fight for our position in order to stay at the front, yet we managed to win the sprint and achieved what we were looking for. Afterwards, I just remained calm and saved some energy for the sprints to come - the same that I am going to do at tomorrow’s ITT!"

While his closest competitor Biniam Girmay is unlikely to add any points in the timetrial, Milan needs to fear the men in 3rd and 4th place. Sitting 12 points behind the Italian are Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. Both are highly likely to overtake Milan in the hilly stage 6 and 7, but a great timetrialist Pogacar could score just enough points already on Wednesday.

Finally, Milan spoke about the uniqueness of intermediate sprints at the Tour, often an overlooked aspect in smaller races. "The sprints at the Tour de France are a bit more chaotic than in other races. Everyone wants to do something and it’s sometimes difficult to manage the situations as they come. It’s good for me to have a team that is supporting me in the sprints full on, keeping me out of trouble."