Milan won two stages, matching Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), who finished seventh in the points classification, with 156 points. Milan became the de facto favorite for the win after his primary rival, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), crashed on stage 3 while racing for an IS and broke his collarbone. The 2023 Škoda Green Jersey winner won the opening stage, in which Milan was part of a group that was dropped from the peloton due to crosswinds and never caught up, and the Belgian looked very strong. But Philipsen was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) collided and Coquard ricocheted into him.
“I’m super happy with how the Tour panned out for us,” Milan said after stage 21. “I will definitely love to come back in the next few years. We’ll see what the course is like every year in order to decide when.”
One problem for him and other sprinters was the decision of organisers to add three climbs of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre to the final stage, which turned it into something of a Classics race, rather than a stage perfectly suited for the sprinters, as had been the tradition.
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“The guys really tried for me on the first Montmartre [climb], but it was just too tough. I really enjoyed the stage after that,” Milan said. “It was my dream to finish with a sprint, but this was really the complete opposite. I did my best, and I’m happy with the Tour we rode.”
He went on to say: “I really suffered in this edition, but I would love to return to experience it all again. The Tour was a big goal for the team, and it has always been a dream to arrive in Paris in the Škoda Green Jersey, ever since I turned pro. We achieved a lot today, I am very happy with that.”
Milan was riding in his first Tour after winning the Giro d’Italia points classification in 2023 and 2024. The 24-year-old Italian looks to be a Grand Tour green jersey contender for years to come. One of his future rivals is certain to be last year’s Škoda Green Jersey winner, Biniam Girmay. The 25-year-old Eritrean came into the Tour some way from his best form and was not able to collect a win. “I was better than last year, but we never found the momentum,” he said. “We could have performed better, but we learned a lot.”
One of the intriguing aspects of the points race had been the presence of Philipsen’s teammate Mathieu van der Poel. It was widely believed that the world gravel and cross-country champion might go for the green jersey after Philipsen left the race, especially since many of the stages suited his one-day-racing skills and race organisers had decided to award the maximum 50 points to the winners of these hilly stages.
Van der Poel won stage 2, finished third on stage 4 and third on stage 11, after which he stood third in the green jersey standings. He repeatedly denied that he was interested in anything but stage wins, yet raced in an IS on occasion. But he eventually left the race before the start of stage 16 after falling ill with pneumonia, so we’ll never know for sure.
As for Pogačar, he trailed Milan by only 11 points after stage 16 because of his four stage wins, and would have given the Lidl-Trek sprinter quite a fight if Milan had not won another stage. But Milan won stage 17 and picked up IS points on that and the following stage, while Pogačar did not win another stage.
“It was a tough fight, but we deserved this,” Milan said. “I’m going to sleep on Monday, preferably until 10 a.m. or later. And I’m going to eat pizza, a nice margherita. I’m going to miss the people in the Tour, but definitely not the climbs, ha-ha!”
