Eleventh stage of the Giro

Milan wins, Großschartner crashes shortly before the finish

Jonathan Milan(Bild: AFP)

Jonathan Milan has won the eleventh stage of the Giro d'Italia in a bunch sprint and celebrated his second stage victory in this year's Tour of Italy. The 23-year-old Italian (Lidl-Trek) came out on top on Wednesday after 207 km from Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare ahead of Tim Merlier (Quick-Step) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin) and extended his lead in the points classification. The pink jersey continues to be worn by the Slovenian top favorite Tadej Pogacar.

Around 20 kilometers before the finish, Felix Großschartner, one of UAE star Pogacar's most important helpers, crashed just like sprinter Fabio Jakobsen and landed in the meadow next to the roadside. After a short breather, the 30-year-old Upper Austrian was able to get back on the bike with a pained face. Jakobsen was doubly unlucky, as the Dutchman was also involved in a mass crash shortly before the finish.

The eleventh stage was dominated by a three-man breakaway group with Cofidis pro Thomas Champion and the Visma duo Tim Van Dijke and Edoardo Affini. The trio was caught by the sprinter teams just 35 km before the finish. However, the Dutch Visma team suffered its fourth retirement before the start of the stage, with shooting star Cian Uijtdebroeks unable to continue due to illness. The 21-year-old Belgian was in fifth place overall and wore the white jersey of the best young rider.

On Thursday, 193 km from Martinsicuro to Fano are on the program, the twelfth stage of this year's Tour of Italy is peppered with several short but steep climbs.