Monkey off Milan's back with victory in Rome.
The Italian sprinter finally gets his stage win on the last day of Giro d'Italia.
The pressure on powerhouse sprinter Jonathan Milan has been building all through this Giro d’Italia. With every missed opportunity it just went higher and higher.
He was beaten three times by Frenchman Paul Magnier of Soudal-Quickstep. Milan was close but no cigar — and if you’re an Italian sprinter in the biggest Italian race of the year, you are not having a good time.
Still, Milan and his Lidl-Trek squad kept the faith. They were still executing at a high level, they had their tactics and timing right — except for the monumental blunder in stage 15 where the break outwitted every sprinter in the race.
They still had Jasper Stuyven piloting Milan through the high speed chaos and putting him in the best position possible. The team was dedicated, well-drilled and focused.
The only thing they were missing was that elusive and unpredictable thing called good fortune. They needed a little help from the Cycling Gods. Today on a beautifully sunny day in Rome, it finally all came together for Milan.
After Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) threw a scare into everyone by attacking with 18 kilometers to go, Lidl-Trek forced Unibet Rose Rockets to do the chasing. Milan’s team had Stuyven on Ganna’s wheel so the other sprint teams had to burn their trains.
Once Ganna was caught, Stuyven switched back to his usual role and the squad moved Milan into position. In the drive to the line the Italian simply had too much wattage and yes, good fortune was on his side.
Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) had no lead-out men left and resigned himself to fourth place. Paul Magnier got boxed on the left side and had no chance.
Lonardi Giovanni )Team Polti VisitMalta) and Penhoët Paul (Groupama FDJ) did perfect sprints for second and third place but expecting them to blow past Milan would require some kind of miracle. It didn’t happen.
Jonathan Milan finally has a stage win in the 2026 Giro d’Italia. He had to wait until the final day and that monkey on his back was getting heavier by the moment.
Bye bye, monkey.