Milan sprints to stage victory at Tour and takes control of green jersey

JONATHAN Milan claimed his first career Tour de France stage win as he beat Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves in an uphill sprint in Laval.

- Jonathan Milan

Milan, 24, had lost his lead-out men on the technical finish to the 171.4km stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand but surfed the wheels before holding off the late charge of Van Aert.

The Italian won in the green jersey he was wearing on behalf of overall leader Tadej Pogacar, but the victory means he will wear it today by rights as he moved to the top of the points classification.

Pogacar enjoyed a relatively easy day in yellow, content to sit further down in the peloton, as the sprinters had only their third opportunity of the Tour and first since Monday - albeit on a slight uphill drag to the line that made it one for the more powerful among them.