Giro d'Italia 2024 - Stage 11: Wild sprint! Milan celebrates second stage win
Thomas Huber
· 15.05.2024
On the 207-kilometre route between Foiano die Val Fortore and Francavilla al Mare, there was a bunch sprint at the end. In this, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) proved why he can wear the points jersey. He irresistibly overtook the competition around Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step) and snatched his second stage win at the Giro 2024, having already triumphed on stage 4. Merlier initially had to settle for second place, but was later relegated to 89th place due to his riding style in the sprint. As a result, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) moved up to second place, with Giovanni Lonardi (Polti-Kometa) in third. The best German was Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious), who finished eighth.
Milan uses Merlier's rear wheel
Soudal - Quick Step took an offensive approach to the final and contested the finale from the front. After Merlier's rider launched the sprint for the Belgian, he found himself at the front of the peloton, but pushed Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) so far away that the jury later decided to drop Merlier back. Jonathan Milan was already lurking on his rear wheel and passed Merlier shortly before the finish to take the stage win. Kaden Groves, who was once again on Milan's rear wheel, was unable to keep up with the Italian's strong attack and lost a little ground on the day's winner. As a result, Groves had to settle for second place and leave Milan to take the superior victory. Meanwhile, Milan extended his lead in the points classification over the sprinter from Alpecin-Deceuninck to 63 points.
I'm happy with what a great job my team did for me today. It put me in a really good position - it was incredible teamwork. Many thanks to everyone in my team for believing in me! - Jonathan Milan in the winner interview
Giro d'Italia 2024: Results - the top 10 of stage 11
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 4:23:18
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Giovanni Lonardi (Polti-Kometa) +0:00
- Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) +0:00
- Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) +0:00
- Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
- Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) +0:00
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis) +0:00
- Enrico Zanoncello (VF Group-Bardiani CSF - Faizane) +0:00
The current standings in the overall standings
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 41:09:26
- Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) +2:40
- Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +2:56
- Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +3:39
- Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +4:27
- Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +4:57
- Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan) +5:19
- Filippo Zana (Team Jayco-AlUla) +5:23
- One Rubio (Movistar) +5:28
- Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) +5:52
This is how the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2024 went
The man in the white jersey Cian Uijtdebroek (Visma | Lease a Bike) did not start the 207 kilometre long 11th stage, he had to abandon the race due to illness. Shortly after the start of the race, three riders broke away from the peloton, which put no obstacles in the way of the escapees. Tim Van Dijke, Edoardo Affini (both Visma | Lease a Bike) and Thomas Champion (Cofidis) quickly made their escape.
Due to the quality of the breakaway, the peloton didn't really let them go far, with the leading trio less than three minutes ahead. Meanwhile, the sprinters Lidl-Trek, Team Jayco-AlUla, Soudal - Quick Step and Alpecin-Deceuninck were doing the chasing in the peloton.
Geschke stays in the mountain jersey
Simon Geschke was once again active on the only mountain classification of the day, finishing fourth behind the breakaway and thus collecting another mountain point. Although he remains second in the mountain classification behind Tadej Pogacar, he can once again wear the Maglia Azzurra on stage 12.
Runaways have no chance on the 11th stage
Once they reached the coast, the headwind picked up, but it didn't affect the race too much. The peloton had the breakaway under full control and let them ride in the wind for a long time on flat terrain. The trio was finally caught 35 kilometres before the finish. In the sprint that followed, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who finished third overall, took second place and moved a little closer to second-placed Daniel Felipe Martinez of Bora-Hansgrohe.
Milan outwits the competition
As a result, Andrea Piccolo (EF Education EasyPost) only tried once to surprise the sprinters with a tentative breakaway attempt. However, his small gap was closed after a few hundred metres by the sprinters' teams. As a result, there were no more attacks, leading to a bunch sprint. In this, Jonathan Milan had the best punch and took the win. Milan thus remains the leader in the points classification. There were also no shifts in the overall classification, which Tadej Pogacar continues to lead confidently.
