After losing the stage 3 sprint at the Giro d'Italia, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) looked like he couldn't decide whether to scream in anger or cry in disappointment.
The Italian had two shots at a sprint victory in Bulgaria but travelled to Italy on the first rest day with a fourth and a second place and lots of regrets. Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) is suddenly the king of the Giro sprints and already wearing the cyclamen-coloured points jersey.
Milan lost contact with his lead out train during the hectic final kilometres of stage 1 to Burgas on Friday. He was ahead of the huge crash but was unable to move up and match Magnier's finishing speed. On Sunday, he was again up front but opted to anticipate the Unibet Rose Rocket train that was riding for Dylan Groenewegen. Milan surged to the front as the road curved to the left but then Magnier came off his wheel with a better-timed, stronger sprint.
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"I went too early, before the final curve. I thought the finish came sooner. I got the timing wrong…" Milan told Italian television channel RAI on Sunday, struggling to contain his disappointment.
"Did I get it wrong? We can say that, we need to be more careful. Of course we knew that Magnier is strong, that's nothing new."
“As a team I think we improved compared to the first sprint. Perhaps I got carried away with trying to get a result, to get revenge for stage 1."
Milan started the Giro as the sprinter to beat after winning four stages and the points jersey at the 2024 Corsa Rosa. He won two stages at the 2025 Tour de France and the green points jersey but has since lost key road captain and leadout man Jasper Stuyven, who moved to Soudal and played a key role in setting up Magnier in Bulgaria.
Milan has fellow Italian Simone Consonni and new leadout man Max Walscheid in the Giro squad but Edward Theuns is absent as Lidl-Trek juggle targeting sprints and the GC with Derek Gee-West.
Milan tried to look at his glass half full after two disappointing sprints.
“From a psychological point of view, I’m not demoralised by the results in Bulgaria," he said.
"I’m feeling better day by day. Maybe I needed to open up my legs a little bit and I feel I've done that after the three stages in Bulgaria. Of course. That's not an excuse, it's just how my legs feel.
"I’ll try to recover during the rest day and then I’ll try to win and enjoy the Giro. There are still a lot of stages to race."
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