Stage 17 of the 2025 Tour de France promised a sprint finish and delivered one – just not the one most riders were expecting. Jonathan Milan claimed his second stage victory of this Tour in a rain-soaked and chaotic finale in Valence, benefiting from a major crash inside the final kilometre that decimated the sprint field.
The 177.8km stage from Bollรจne to Valence was billed as the sprintersโ last realistic opportunity before Paris, and it looked to be heading for a standard bunch finish. But heavy rain in the closing 20km, combined with jittery nerves, turned what should have been a textbook run-in into a treacherous mess of crashes, near-misses, and reshuffled ambitions.
Breakaway set the early tempo
From the flag drop, the stage was raced aggressively. A quartet eventually slipped off the front – Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies). Abrahamsen, still chasing mountains points, looked particularly keen, as did Albanese, who later tested the peloton with a stinging attack on the final categorised climb.
Their gap never extended beyond 2 minutes, as Lidl-Trek placed Quinn Simmons on the front early and never relinquished control. Despite a short-lived solo attempt by Abrahamsen with 20km remaining, the break was gradually reeled back in. Albanese and Burgaudeau were the last to be caught before the catch was finally made with just 4km remaining.
Finale soaked and sketchy
With light rain turning into a downpour in the last 15km, the run-in became treacherous. Roundabouts and road furniture were negotiated cautiously, but tension was already sky high. Riders were fighting for position in narrowing lanes, and a crash felt inevitable.
That moment came just under the flamme rouge. A Picnic PostNL rider appeared to overlap wheels with a Uno-X Mobility rider, triggering a domino-effect pile-up that brought down multiple sprinters including Biniam Girmay, who finished the stage clutching his right arm.
Tadej Pogaฤar and Jonas Vingegaard were also delayed but avoided injury and were awarded the same time as the winner due to the 3km rule.
Milan seizes the moment
With the crash disrupting the lead-outs, Jonathan Milan was forced to freelance. Only Jasper Stuyven remained to help him after the chaos, and the experienced Belgian made the critical move by placing Milan on the wheel of Jordi Meeus.
Milan waited patiently, surfacing from behind Meeus with 150 metres to go and launching his sprint on the right-hand side of the road. Despite the lack of a structured lead-out, his power was evident as he surged clear to take the win ahead of Meeus and Tobias Lund Andresen.
Behind them, Arnaud De Lie finished fourth for the second time at this Tour, frustrated after brushing Milan’s rear wheel in the final and losing momentum.
โIt was one of our goals in the beginning of the day,โ Milan said after the stage. โIโm really happy we achieved 61 points. We did what we had to do.โ
Green jersey lead extended
Milan now leads the points classification by 72 points ahead of Pogaฤar, and although the race heads into the Alps tomorrow, Lidl-Trek remain wary. Team director Steven De Jongh was quick to remind that Pogaฤar could still score big in the intermediate sprints – and potentially in Paris if the final stage plays into his hands.
โItโs not in the pocket,โ De Jongh said. โWe still need to target those intermediate points.โ
Whether Milan gets the chance to sprint again remains uncertain. The Montmartre finale in Paris on stage 21 is unlikely to favour the pure sprinters, but Milan isnโt giving up hope.
โI want to focus first on tomorrow,โ he said, โbut Iโm sure on Sunday we will give our best to achieve the best result we can.โ
2025 Tour de France Stage 17 result
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