Jonathan Milan screamed and shouted in celebration as he won stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico, letting out the happiness of beating Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a sprint, of winning a stage after going close twice this week, and of confirming his talent at the WorldTour level with Lidl-Trek.
Thanks to his placing this week, and a 10-second time bonus for his stage victory, Milan also took the race leader’s blue jersey from Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and pulled on the best young rider’s white jersey along with the cyclamen-coloured points jersey.
“I let out a lot of emotions with my howl,’ Milan explained after his victory. “We’d been looking to win for several days, we’d worked hard but never pulled it off. To finally win was a liberation.
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“I must say thanks to my teammates who did an amazing job. It wasn't an easy day. I had a puncture on the climb and they brought me back.
“This morning I wanted this victory so much after I came third and second in the first two stages. We came here for a result and now we have it."
Milan is only 23 but is considered Italy’s next great thing as they struggle to find a new generation of riders able to compete at WorldTour level.
Milan is often considered Filippo Ganna’s heir but moved ahead of his master this spring as Ganna tried to catch up after missing a month of winter training due to tonsillitis. Milan is the first Italian to win a WorldTour race so far in 2024 and Italy’s only real hope of success at the rapidly approaching Milan-San Remo.
He’s a superb track pursuiter like Ganna, but is faster and braver in sprints. He has yet to transform his pursuiter speed into major time trial success but he is eager to test himself in the cobbled Classics.
Milan hails from the Buja region of Italy, in the northern Friuli Venezia Giulia region, closer to the border with Slovenia. He was named Milan after his mother read Richard Bach’s famous novel, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull".
“She loved the story and the way seagulls live their lives,” Milan explained last year.
“I have a strong connection to my roots in Friuli and to the people. The Friulian are first of all hard workers, with their feet on the ground. Sometimes they may seem a little aloof but they're just focused on what they do.”
Lidl-Trek invested in Milan for 2024, signing him from Bahrain Victorious and giving him a three-year deal, convinced he can become a successful sprinter and Classics rider in the years to come. Milan is modest and unpretentious but likes winning, while enjoying his racing.
He will surely have a leading role in Lidl-Trek’s Classics squad for Milan-San Remo and the cobbled Classics but carefully avoid naming himself as a team leader alongside Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven.
“I'm on form and we’ll have a super strong team for the Classics with Mads, Jasper and the other guys. I want to finish Tirreno-Adriatico on form and then we’ll see what happens in the Classics,” he said.
“We can never be perfect in every race and I’m sure we’ll make mistakes in the future but if we do, it’ll help us improve. I’m still learning and developing.
“Every race is different. Sometimes things don’t go right with the team, or I waste energy during the stage. But then we all work together and the win comes. Making mistakes is part of the process."
Milan’s track skills means he is already a key rider in the men’s team pursuit squad. He will anchor the Italian men’s team along with Ganna at the Paris Olympic Games. However, his sprinting skills also make him ideal for the 273-kilometre road race, which ends with three circuits around Montmartre and a flat finish at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Italy will have three places in the 90-rider road race start list and national coach Daniel Bennati is looking for a trio of riders who can win a medal. He would love to select Milan but the dates of the Olympics care little for multi-disciplinary cycling. Training for both events could also be counterproductive, with a 4000-metre team pursuit at over 60 kph needing far different training to a 273km road race, where Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar are the favourites.
“I’d like to do everything… But the road race is on August 3 and the track starts on August 5. It’s possible but the dates are set in stone,” Milan said, pessimistic about the chances but refusing to give up hope.
Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel face similar problems combining the mountain bike race and the road race, while riding the time trial on July 27 is a little easier.
“It’s a real pity that the Olympic cycling programme doesn’t help me or anyone ride both events. The team pursuit on the track is my major goal and then we’ll see what happens for the road race,” Milan said.
