Cool skies, fast roads, and a packed peloton full of the world's best sprinters. Koolskamp played host to a thrilling edition of the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.
Today, Jonathan Milan showed once again why he’s among the sharpest sprinters in the peloton.
From the gun, the race was aggressive. Several break attempts tried to steal the show in the first hour over undulating terrain, windy stretches, and tight corners. Lidl‑Trek kept a vigilant eye on every move, ensuring no breakaway threatened long enough to gain dangerous time. The Team were switched on, riding near the front on the climbs and through crosswinds to close gaps, keeping things tense but controlled.
As the laps wore on, crashes and mechanicals took their toll, thinning out the bunch just enough but not enough to take away the chance of a bunch sprint finish. With about 30 kilometres to go, a small group of four riders escaped, but after tenacity from the sprinters’ teams, including us, the gap began to shrink.
Entering the final circuit in Koolskamp, the bunch was together, everyone looking to deliver for their fast man. The Teams lead‑out was textbook. In the last 2 kilometres, we moved to the front, protecting Jonny from the wind and jostling behind. With around 250 metres to go, Jonny launched and opened a small but decisive gap that he managed to hold to the line. A well earned win and a sign that the legs are well recovered after July’s Tour de France.
From Jonny..
I’m really happy with today, the team managed the day really well. The speed was really high, especially in the first hour, but the end was really chaotic. It was difficult to organise the lead out as all the sprinters wanted to be there at the front to go for the victory. I managed the final really well and I’m really happy for this result.
It was very difficult for me to recover after the Tour de France. I went to the Tour of Germany and I was hoping it would go a bit better but I think my body still wasn’t recovered enough and now I’ve had some nice time at home and had some good training days which left me very motivated to come here and do these last few races of the season with my teammates and bring home some nice results and have some fun!
