Milan wins Dauphine stage two to take over yellow jersey

Jonathan Milan won stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine with a sprint finish in Issoire.

Lidl-Trek’s lead-out train hit the front during the final kilometre of the 204.6km ride from Premilhat, and they left Milan alone with 150m remaining.

This year’s Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner Mathieu van der Poel then fought hard to catch Milan.

But the Italian held on to clinch his first road race win in France, with British rider Fred Wright edging out Van der Poel for second.

Milan also claimed the yellow jersey from reigning Tour de France and Giro d’Italia champion Tadej Pogacar, who won the opening stage on Sunday.

“It was really tough,” said Milan, 24. “Yesterday and today, I suffered a lot.

“At one point I was really on the limit, but I have to say thanks to my team-mates because they brought me back.

“We knew we had to take the last corner at the front, and it was just a perfect lead-out. I’m really happy because this means a lot to all of us.”

Local rider Romain Bardet, who is competing in his last professional race, attacked on the final categorised climb of the day and built a 20-second lead.

But Bardet did not get any support in the breakaway so the peloton soon closed the gap, with Lidl Trek putting Milan in a prime position during the finish.

Stage three will begin in the 34-year-old Bardet’s hometown of Brioude.

(all same time)

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita/Lidl-Trek) 9hrs 34mins 51secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Same time

3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +2secs

4. Fred Wright (GB/Bahrain Victorious) +4secs

5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +4secs

6. Hugo Page (Fra/Intermarche-Wanty) +8secs

7. Anders Foldager (Den/Jayco-AlUla) +9secs

8. Nils Politt (Ger/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +9secs

9. Bastien Tronchon (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +10secs

10. Emilien Jeanniere (Fra/TotalEnergies) +10secs