Jonathan Milan wins Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia 2024, Riccione – Cento. It was his third sprint victory in after Andorra and Francavilla. Behind him were Aniołkowski and Bauhaus.
The 179 km flat stage from Cento to Riccione was a day for the sprinters. It was expected to be a slow day but at 60km to go, echelons split the peloton. A poorly-timed nature break meant Lidl-Trek were towards the back of the peloton when crosswinds ripped through the bunch. Lidl-Trek organized themselves straight away and chased, rotating between the strong rouleurs on the team to reduce the deficit. Even Jonathan Milan got involved in the chase, and after 20 kilometers, they were back in the peloton, moving to the front to avoid being caught out again.
The Lidl-Trek sprint train was a well-oiled machine as it approached the finish. A textbook leadout, first with Daan Hoole pulling the train into position, then with huge pulls from Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns before Simone Consonni took over for the final effort. Jonny was able to jump onto the early sprint of Gaviria (Movistar) using the slipstream to spring past him and sail to the win, raising a three-fingered salute as celebration. The ‘Bull of Buja’ quickly found his teammates to celebrate the victory the third victory with them, crediting them once more for their amazing work.
“Let’s say that I was a bit behind and the echelons in the front happened. The guys like always did an amazing job, we pushed full gas to come back to catch the first group. We always stayed in the first positions, then the images tell everything. They delivered me in a perfect position. We started really well in this finish, we knew that we had to come into the last corner with Simone [Consonni] and Simo had to start his lead out from 400 meters to go. We did it like this, it was impressive how the guys rode today, how everyone did their part, how everyone pulled, how everyone pushed for this team goal. In the end, when everyone is believing in all this, this is the result at the end. Just again, I’m super happy and proud of the guys on my team and like always I have to say thanks to them.”
Jonny’s lead in the points competition now stretches beyond 100 points as he and Lidl-Trek continue to show dominance in the sprints
Stage 13
1 Jonathan MILAN LIDL – TREK 4:02:03 0:10 0:00
2 Stanislaw ANIOLKOWSKI COFIDIS 4:02:03 0:06 0:00
3 Phil BAUHAUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 4:02:03 0:04 0:00
GC
1 Tadej POGACAR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 45:22:35 0:00
2 Daniel Felipe MARTINEZ BORA – HANSGROHE 45:25:15 02:40
3 Geraint THOMAS INEOS GRENADIERS 45:25:31 02:56
