Jonathan Milan clinched his maiden Tour de France stage victory yesterday with a gruelling but perfectly-timed sprint on an uphill drag into Laval.
Stage 8, 171km from Saint-Meen-le-Grand - the birthplace of three-time Tour winner Louison Bobet - was always heading for a battle among the fast men, and it was the Italian who surfed the wheels best after losing his lead-out train, hopping onto Mathieu van der Poel’s leadout before breaking clear.