Milan sprints to second in the final stage of Valenciana

Jonathan Milan, already a winner in stage 3, crowns his debut with Lidl-Trek by winning the points classification

Milan was close to doubling up in the first race with his new Team. Only eight seconds prevented Johnny to make it happen and that was the advantage with which Barta (Movistar) managed to solo across the finish line in Valencia, which hosted the fifth and final stage of the Volta Valenciana. After Barta, Johnny clearly won the sprint of the peloton, which had been reduced to 40 riders by the climb at 40km from the finish, where the Movistar rider built much of his success.

A strong effort by Milan passing the final KOM close to the GC riders (©GettyImages)

We knew it would have been a difficult day to get a sprint today. I did a strong effort to survive on the last climb, then a second one to get back in the main group. I think the guys who survived with me, Oomen, Konrad and Ghebreigzabhier did the maximum to get a sprint finish, they pulled a lot, but Barta today had something more than the rest of the peloton. He was able to build and manage a big enough gap to face the technical last kilometers in the city in the best way. Congrats to him - Jonathan Milan

The sprint for the podium in Valencia (©GettyImages)

Although, as Milan said after the stage, the goal is always the win, the balance of the debut is absolutely positive. In five days of racing came a victory, two top fives and the points classification. Plus, for the Team, a 3rd place from Consonni and a top ten by Konrad in the queen stage – definitely a good start.

In the end, I can’t complain about today’s second place, it’s a good result, but it’s fair to say that we always look for something more than being second. It was my first race with the Team, the first test among teammates, especially in the sprints, and we passed it with flying colors. It was a very good debut. Personally, I had also good feedback on the level of my condition. That’s definitely a boost of confidence - Jonathan Milan