'Ineos did a really big job' - Milan praises rival team after sealing milestone career victory at Tirreno-Adriatico

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) powered to victory on the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, as Isaac del Toro sealed the GC, though it wasn’t easy for the Italian sprint star.

Milan has won the final stage finishing in the seaside town of San Benedetto del Tronto for the past three seasons, and he was asked about that statistic after beating Sam Welsford (Ineos Grenadiers) and Laurenz Rex (Soudal Quick-Step) to the fourth Tirreno stage win of his career. 

“I'm starting to like it a lot, and when things are going good, even more so,” Milan told CyclingProNet at the finish.

It was a nervy finale, and a crash inside the final 2km saw two of the pre-stage favourites, Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), fall. While Milan avoided crashing, the Italian was impacted by the incident and found himself with a frantic chase to return to the front. 

“I was also pretty worried about crashing. I had to brake and come back, and after these two corners, I had enough time to come back in the first positions,” said Milan.

Milan managed to find his teammate Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) in time for the Belgian specialist to motor through the peloton, and deliver his Italian teammate in a prime position to launch his sprint.

“I tried my best, and found my teammate Edward [Theuns] again, and then he delivered me in a perfect way. I’m super happy for the work that he did for me,” Milan added.

Though the stage was always expected to be one for the sprinters, it wasn’t easy as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) set the race alight on the 8km Ripatransone climb inside the first 50km of the stage. Many of the sprinters found themselves distanced from the pack, including Milan. 

The Italian was able to return following the climb, crediting the work of Ineos Grenadiers, who were aiming to bring Welsford back to the front, with the Australian going on to finish second on the day behind Milan.

“This was a really, really tough moment for me. I really tried my best, and I knew that after the climbs, we would have enough time to recover and come back if I was behind,” explained Milan.

“Luckily, we were able to catch them. Ineos did a really big job, I have to say. They closed the gap, and yeah, we just fixed it really well, I think,” said Milan. 

This victory marks Milan’s sixth of the 2026 season, and is a milestone 30th professional victory, indicating that the form and confidence are good ahead of the Italian’s next races to come, which begin with Milan-Sanremo on March 21.