Milan grabs Dauphine stage victory and overall lead

Issoire, France: Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire on Monday to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar.

The 1.93m (6-foot-4) 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey.

“That was really tough,” said Milan. “I was dropped at one point and I was really on the limit, but I have to say thanks to my teammates because they brought me back and guided me until the last metres.”

Briton Fred Wright was second and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel third. Pogacar and his main rivals for overall victory, both in the Criterium and the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, rolled home safely in the main pack just behind Mlan.

Pogacar, who collected a 10-second bonus on Sunday, has the same overall time as Mian, but braked hard in the final metres to surrender places and hand the Italian the tie-break edge and the daily media responsibilities that go with the yellow jersey. The eight-day race, with four hilly stages, a time trial and three final days in the Alps, has attracted an A-list roster of 154 riders from 22 teams.

It offers Tour de France contenders a chance to hone their form and gain a psychological edge before the main event starts on July 5. Pogacar, who won his third Tour de France last year ending Vingegaard´s two-year reign, had struck the first blow the previous day, edging the Dane to take the opening stage and the overall lead.

On Monday, support riders for Pogacar´s Team UAE and Vingegaard´s Visma spent much of the stage jostling, sometimes angrily, for position at the front of the pack. The stage was briefly animated when local-boy Romain Bardet, riding the final race of his 14-year professional career, launched an attack on the last small climb just before a corner where his fan club was waiting with a huge banner. The 34-year-old was caught with 10 kilometres to go as Milan´s Lidl-Trek team took control.