LAVAL ESPACE MAYENNE, France (12 July 2025) — Third sprint was the charm for Jonathan Milan, who powered to victory in Laval to claim his maiden stage win in the Tour de France. Lidl-Trek’s powerhouse not only raised his arms in triumph for the first time, he also ended Italy’s longest drought in the history of the race.
One hundred and thirteen stages had passed since Vincenzo Nibali’s success in Val Thorens on stage 20 of the 2019 Tour—a number that corresponds to the emergency number for the police in Italy. On day 114, Milan answered the call. With his stellar record on the track, Milan also continues the trend of winning world champions in this Tour de France.
Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) completed the stage podium, while Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Vercher (Total Energies) shared the combativity award in recognition of their grit.
A Sprinter’s Paradise
After a couple of explosive stages in perfect weather conditions, the Tour de France 2025 returned to a flat stage between Saint-Méen-le-Grand—Louison Bobet’s hometown—and Laval, a parcours tailor-made for the sprinters. Temperatures were on the rise with the thermometer reading over 30°C, while headwinds hindered the progress of the peloton throughout the 183-kilometer stage.
The tactical chess match began early, with Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty) quickly taking the reins to drive the bunch at 41 km/h en route to the intermediate sprint in Vitré at kilometer 85.5.
As has become customary since the start of the Tour, Jonathan Milan proved fastest on the line. The Italian powerhouse claimed another 20 points toward his green jersey tally, having accumulated 112 of his 142 points in intermediate sprints—the other 30 came with his second place in Dunkirk. This time, he bested Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Anthony Turgis (Total Energies), and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).
The Breakaway Gambit
After the intermediate sprint, Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies) accelerated. Simmons controlled his move initially, but the French attacker went again at kilometer 90, this time with teammate Matteo Vercher. The duo opened a gap of one minute as they passed through Ballots at kilometer 114.9.
Over the only categorized climb of the day—Côte de Nuillé-sur-Vicoin, with its summit 16.4 kilometers from the finish—the gap was down to 40 seconds with multiple teams taking front positions. Burgaudeau and Vercher both received combativity awards, a situation that had previously occurred just three times in Tour history: in 1978 with Yves Hézard and Raymond Martin in Super Besse, in 2011 with Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland in Saint-Flour, and in 2016 with Julian Alaphilippe and Tony Martin in Bern.
The shared combativity award represents one of the rarest occurrences in Tour de France history. In the race’s 112-year existence, only four instances have seen the most combative rider prize split between two competitors, making this Total Energies duo’s recognition an exceptionally uncommon achievement. The award, which has been presented since 1952, typically goes to a single rider who demonstrates exceptional fighting spirit or tactical audacity during the stage. For teammates to share this honor adds another layer of rarity to the moment, underlining the collaborative nature of their breakaway effort and the race jury’s recognition that neither rider’s contribution could be separated from the other’s in their day-long escape attempt.
Burgaudeau continued solo as Vercher was dropped with 13 kilometers to go. The Frenchman was eventually caught nine kilometers later as the pace ramped up for the slightly rising finish in Laval.
The Sprint Finale
In the final kilometers, the tension was palpable as the sprint trains organized. Milan, perfectly positioned in the front group, waited for the optimal moment to launch his kick. Going with 200 meters to go might have seemed premature, but the Italian’s raw power proved decisive as he held off the charging field to claim his breakthrough victory.
“I’m happy with the victory,” Milan said post-stage. “We worked for it and it eventually came on the third opportunity. I knew I could count on my boys. From the start of the day, we started super motivated and they’ve done an extraordinary job. I always had someone to follow. It was not easy to move together but they know how to guide me and they controlled the whole stage. I needed to repay them with a victory.”
The 25-year-old track world champion continued: “It was a tough finale. I was in the front positions and I waited for the right moment to launch my sprint. Going with 200 metres to go might have been a bit long but it was hard for everyone, I gave it all and it worked out. I knew it was important to win today. It’s really nice to get it after all the efforts from the whole team. When you have a full team believing, it makes things easier. And now we’d like to have some more!”
GC Contenders Play It Safe
For the general classification contenders, it was a day of damage limitation and recovery after the previous stages’ intensity. Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) navigated the stage safely, maintaining his 54-second advantage over Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).
“It was a much more relaxing stage than the previous ones,” Pogačar reflected. “I would have wished to have some more straight roads, as we went through so many villages and that made the race hectic and stressful sometimes. In any case, it has been a good day out in order to recover from the many efforts we have already done.”
The Slovenian also praised teammate João Almeida’s resilience: “João is a warrior. You could see him suffering all day long, especially with accelerations—but he still hung on and kept going. He has the true spirit of a champion.”
Evenepoel echoed the sentiment about stage safety: “Overall, it was a comfortable day, but in stages like this, it gets very nervous in the finale. I stayed focused because for riders in the general classification, crashes in sprints are the most stupid thing that can happen. In any case, this stage feels good after two very intense days.”
Jersey Implications
Milan’s victory also secured him the green jersey, adding extra significance to his maiden Tour stage win. “It’s even more special to win with the green jersey,” he noted. “I really enjoy it, I feel even more encouragements from the crowds, although it was not my jersey until the end of the stage. Getting the win and the full points is also perfect in that regard.”
Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates XRG) retained the polka-dot jersey, though he acknowledged its temporary nature: “So far, keeping the polka dot jersey has been possible, and I expect to hold it at least one more day as there won’t be any categorized climbs tomorrow. Yet, on Monday, there are too many points at stake and I’ll probably lose it. I have no KOM ambitions. My goal from the start has been working for Tadej and his fourth overall win, and it’s still the case.”
The Breakaway Perspective
For the day’s escapees, the shared combativity award provided consolation for their brave effort. Vercher reflected on the unique situation: “I’ve already won the combativity award in Lille, but it’s really cool to share it with Mathieu, it’s almost unique. When we set off, we thought it might give the others some ideas, but in the end it was just the two of us at the front and had a great time. I was a bit frustrated at the end because I had a puncture, so I didn’t get the chance to show what I could do as much as I would have liked.”
Burgaudeau, philosophical about the breakaway’s chances, added: “The plan was for me to do it alone, but then Matteo helped me get started and ended up at the front with me. It was too much for him, so we carried on together and I was really happy. We’re two mates, so sharing this breakaway as a duo in the Tour de France is a great moment. The same goes for sharing the prize. No one was interested in the breakaway today, but it’s still a chance to be in the Tour de France, so I like to give it a go even though I know there’s very little chance of making it to the end.”
Looking Ahead
With another flat stage on the horizon, Milan’s confidence was evident: “Hopefully I get some nice sleep because tomorrow we have another beautiful stage for us. So let’s enjoy this and let’s try again.”
The stage results showcased the depth of the sprinting field, with Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), and Tobias Lund Andersen (Team Picnic PostNL) rounding out the top positions behind the podium finishers.
As the Tour de France continues its northward trajectory, Milan’s breakthrough victory serves as a reminder that patience and persistence often yield the sweetest rewards in cycling’s greatest race. For Italy, the 114-stage drought is finally over, and for Milan, the first of potentially many Tour stage victories is now reality.
By the Numbers
8: A NEW WINNER
It took Jonathan Milan, a Tour de France rookie, 8 stages to raise his arms for the first time. The Italian claimed his 7th victory of the year, the 23rd of his professional career, which began in 2021. This is his 5th Grand Tour victory, after four at the Giro d’Italia (one in 2023, three in 2024). He’s also the first rookie of the Tour 2025 (out of 49 at the start) to win!
113: FORZA ITALIA
Jonathan Milan ends Italy’s longest-ever Tour victory drought. The country had not won in 113 stages, 113 being the number to call for police assistance in Italy! This is Italy’s 266th Tour victory. The last was Vincenzo Nibali’s victory in Val Thorens in 2019 (stage 20), 2,177 days ago. For the last victory by an Italian sprinter, we go back to Elia Viviani in Nancy in 2019 (stage 4).
2: TWO COMBATIVES
Having escaped for 71 kilometers, Mathieu Burgaudeau and Mattéo Vercher were awarded the combativity prize… together! It’s only the 4th time in history that two riders have received the prize. Previous duos: Yves Hezard and Raymond Martin (Super-Besse 1978), Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland (Saint-Flour 2011), Julian Alaphilippe and Tony Martin (Bern 2016). It’s the second time it has happened to two riders from the same team, in this case TotalEnergies. Alaphilippe and Martin were both riding for Etixx-Quick Step at the time.
112-113-114: MILAN, IT WAS WRITTEN
The 112th edition of the Tour de France saw Italy end a 113-stage drought, the day Jonathan Milan became the 114th Italian rider to win a stage in the race!
12: ALMOST DONE FOR VAN AERT AND VISMA
Second today, Wout van Aert recorded his best result since the start, but there are now eight podium finishes without a victory for him. The Belgian has not won since stage 20 of the Tour 2022, a time trial between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadour. This also leaves 12 podium finishes without a victory for the Visma – Lease A Bike team, which nevertheless leads the team classification.
1: THE KING OF INTERMEDIATE SPRINTS
112 of Jonathan Milan’s 192 points were scored in intermediate sprints. The Italian made these intermediate sprints a key element in his quest for the green jersey. He won these sprints on stages 1, 3, 6, and 8. For stages 2 (5th), 4 (5th), and 7 (6th), he wasn’t first… but he won the peloton fight for intermediate sprints each time, beating his direct rivals in the points classification!
168: BRAVE ALMEIDA
João Almeida finished 168th, 6’42” behind Jonathan Milan, his worst position in a Grand Tour stage (he has 4 Giro d’Italia, 3 Vuelta a España, and it’s his 2nd Tour de France). The Portuguese is fighting pain, suffering from a rib fracture (left side) yesterday, as well as abrasions on his body.
3: ITALIAN CELEBRATION
Not only did Italy win, but there were also three Italians in the top 10 (Jonathan Milan 1st, Alberto Dainese 8th, Vincenzo Albanese 9th). A first since stage 13 of the Tour 2022, which finished in Saint-Étienne (Filippo Ganna 6th, Luca Mozzato 9th, Andrea Pasqualon 10th).
10: LIDL-TREK TWO YEARS LATER
Jonathan Milan gives Lidl-Trek its 10th Tour victory, the first since Mads Pederson in Limoges in 2023 (stage 8).
Stage 8 Results:
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- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) – 3:50:26
- Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – same time
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – same time
- Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech) – same time
- Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) – same time
- Tobias Lund Andersen (Team Picnic PostNL) – same time
- Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) – same time
- Alberto Dainese (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – same time
- Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost) – same time
- Søren Edvardsen-Fredheim (Uno-X Mobility) – same time
General Classification after Stage 8:
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- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 29:48:30
- Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – +0:54
- Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – +1:11
- Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +1:17
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – +1:29
- Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +1:34
- Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +2:49
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +3:02
- Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +3:06
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – +3:43
Jersey Holders after Stage 8:
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- Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader): Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
- Green Jersey (Points): Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
- Polka-dot Jersey (King of the Mountains): Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
- White Jersey (Best Young Rider): Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
