Lidl-Trek set themselves a tough challenge to try to set up a bunch sprint on a day with over 3500 meters of climbing and it *almost* succeeded.
Strong teamwork has been the theme of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Stage 4 was no different with Lidl-Trek going all-in to try to set Jonathan Milan up for the finish on a day when most would have thought it was only a day for the climbers.
Milan made it over the top of the four categorized climbs, including two category 1 ascents, with the majority of his team still around him even after helping to close down the day’s breakaway, that at point had an advantage over more than eight minutes.
Going into the last couple of kilometers, Milan was still accompanied by Lidl-Trek Future Racing rider, Jakob Söderqvist, who proved his strength and by, Milan’s own admission, was the strongest of the Team at the end.
With 500 meters, Milan let a gap open up with the belief that Söderqvist could make it all the way to the line but Santiago [Buitrago, Bahrain-Victorious] launched a stinging move that saw him overtake the young Swedish rider and take the win.
#VCV2025 2nd and 3rd for @MilanJonathan_ and Jakob Söderqvist after a tricky run in. Not the top spot today but how impressive was that climbing performance by our big guys? pic.twitter.com/c4tkCZb0aE
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) February 8, 2025
Milan tried to launch his own sprint to catch his former teammate but it was just a touch too late and the Lidl-Trek duo went second and third, respectively.
Jonathan Milan
It was a super tough day. We managed the day really well as a team, I was dropped a few times, I think three, but the guys always brought me back. I was always on the limit, really, always, and in the end, we were in a good position. I could see that Jakob had really good legs today and, I left a little gap in the last 500 meters, more or less, and I believed he could arrive at the finish because I knew he was feeling better than me. At that moment, I saw Santiago [Buitrago, Bahrain-Victorious] coming from behind, super fast, so I tried to take my own pace for the last 400 meters. We raced super strong as a team today and now, we focus on tomorrow's last stage.
