Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Wednesday August 28, 2024 at 3:53 p.m.
Following on from his excellent Tour of Germany, Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won the first stage of the Renewi Tour in Belgium in a sprint.
The 20th edition of the Renewi Tour, formerly called the Tour of Benelux, is underway! The event, which counts towards the World Tour, now only takes place in Belgium and the Netherlands, over five stages, and Jonathan Milan won the first one! The 23-year-old Italian sprinter is in great shape, having just won three stages in the Tour of Germany. This Wednesday, at the end of this stage taking place on the hilly roads between Riemst and Bilzen, in the province of Limburg, which will also host the European Championships in two weeks, it was he who proved to be the strongest in the final sprint. The Lidl-Trek rider (a team that had lost Daan Hoole in a fall earlier in the day) was battling with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the final hectometres, and he managed to resist the Belgian until the end. Behind this duo, the Frenchman from Cofidis Axel Zingle managed to take third place, while in his wake, Dylan Groenewegen and Tim Merlier clashed on the finish line and fell! Jonathan Milan, who won the fifteenth victory of his career and the tenth of his season, therefore takes on the first leader’s jersey of this edition.
A time trial on the program for Thursday
For the rest, this stage was marked by a morning breakaway of five riders, including four Belgians.The fugitives were caught 27 kilometers from the finish. A fall then brought down about ten riders, including Olav Kooij and Max Kanter, who were fortunately able to finish the stage. On Thursday, a 15.4-kilometre time trial, completely flat, around Tesenderlo in Belgium, will be on the menu. Will Jonathan Milan, who won the prologue of the Tour of Germany (only 3 kilometres long), be able to keep the lead in the standings?
WORLD TOUR / RENEWI TOUR
Ranking of the 1st stage (Riemst – Bilzen, 163.6km) – Wednesday August 28, 2024
1- Jonathan Milan (ITA/Lidl-Trek) and 3h41’01
2- Jasper Philipsen (BEL/Alpecin-Deceuninck) mt
3- Axel Zingle (FRA/Codidis) mt
4- Tim Merlier (BEL/Soudal-Quick Step) mt
5- Dylan Groenewegen (PBS/Jayco AlUla) mt
6- Paul Penhoët (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) mt
7- Gerben Thijssen (BEL/Intermarché-Wanty) mt
8- Matteo Trentin (ITA/Tudor) mt
9- Elia Viviani (ITA/Ineos Grenadiers) mt
10- Davide Bomboi (BEL/TDT-Unibet) mt
…
