Jonathan Milan claimed his maiden Tour de France stage win in Laval with a commanding sprint that left even Wout van Aert unable to respond. After coming close in previous finishes, the Italian finally converted his consistency into victory on a day when much of the pre-finish intrigue focused on rising tension between UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike.
Milan made the uphill drag look routine, powering past Kaden Groves in the closing metres after a textbook Lidl-Trek leadout. With the team’s sprint train functioning at full capacity and Jasper Stuyven the last man, Milan delivered emphatically, saying: “We really deserve it. We were looking for this stage, and today we finally got it.”
He credited the whole squad’s cohesion, adding, “Jasper was so important. Eddie [Theuns] kept us well placed, and Simone [Consonni] took it up from 3km out. It was chaotic, but we stayed calm.”
Groves had to settle for third behind van Aert, who returned to sprinting duties despite telling journalists earlier that he wouldn’t contest the finish.
“I’ll announce it next time on Twitter,” van Aert joked. “But seriously, I felt good. I thought, why not go for it? Milan was too fast, but I’m happy to be up there again.”
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersThe Belgian was strong in the final kilometre, surfing wheels and latching onto Milan’s slipstream, but couldn’t come round the Italian. For van Aert, second place signalled progress after a low-key start to the Tour and illness earlier this summer. “The legs were good yesterday, they were good today,” he said. “I wanted to give it a go, and I think I can be proud of this one.”
Groves, stepping into the sprint role for Alpecin-Deceuninck after Jasper Philipsen’s exit, found Milan simply too fast: “I ran out of legs in the final 200 metres. Milan was super strong. Honestly, I have to say ‘wow’.”
Behind the sprint drama, a small moment involving Tadej Pogačar and Matteo Jorgenson in the stage 7 feed zone spilled into a larger debate about respect and racing etiquette between the peloton’s two superteams.
Pogačar admitted to pushing Jorgenson as the American moved up the inside during the approach to his team’s feed station.
“There was a feed zone, and we were riding in one line,” he said. “I showed intention to go for my bottle, but they passed on the right. So if I wanted to take it, I had to give him a little push. For me, it was normal.”
He continued: “Visma often come in front in the feed zones like they’re the only ones there. There has to be more respect. You need to be patient sometimes.”
Jorgenson played it down, telling reporters, “I missed a bottle. That’s it.” But Visma DS Grischa Niermann responded sharply: “The same back to him,” when asked about the call for more respect.
Niermann dismissed the incident as overblown, calling it “a normal moment” and expressing frustration at the media inflating minor clashes. “At the Tour, everything is amplified,” he said. “People say the peloton hates us. That’s just noise. We congratulate UAE when they win, and they do the same when we do.”
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersPogačar later softened his tone, insisting the rivalry was rooted in mutual ambition. “There’s always tension, but I respect them,” he said. “Everyone wants that final bottle, and when you’re blocked, sometimes there’s no choice.”
UAE boss Mauro Gianetti also downplayed the feud: “It’s a nice challenge. They beat us before, we beat them sometimes now. It keeps us sharp.”
Saturday’s stage also saw Tim Merlier’s chances ruined by a puncture with 12.5km to go. The Soudal-QuickStep sprinter did well to regain the peloton but admitted, “I tried to find a slipstream at 500 metres, but I knew it would be difficult. I was blocked and had to slow down.”
Eddie Dunbar was not so lucky. The Jayco-AlUla rider, who impressed on stage 6, was forced to abandon after struggling with wrist pain from a crash the day before. João Almeida, also involved in that crash, started the stage and finished safely in the bunch despite a fractured rib.
Milan now leads the green jersey standings with 182 points, ahead of Pogačar on 156. Sunday’s stage into Châteauroux, where Mark Cavendish won his first Tour stage in 2008, is another opportunity for Milan to extend that gap before the Massif Central reshapes the race next week.
He’s optimistic. “I still have a few chances, and I’ll try to take as many points and good results as I can. It’s a goal for me and for the team. We’ll take it stage by stage.”
2025 Tour de France Stage 8 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
