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Jonathan Milan won a rain-soaked sprint finish in Valence to take his second stage win in this year’s Tour de France, after a treacherous finish from which race leader Tadej Pogacar, and nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard, both emerged unscathed.
In what was probably the final stage of the 2025 Tour suited to the sprinters, others were not so fortunate after a downpour made the final kilometres through surburban Valence horribly greasy.
When the inevitable touch of wheels came it took down half a dozen riders, including stage three winner Tim Merlier, and Biniam Girmay, winner of the points classification in 2024, who somersaulted down the wet road into the barriers.
As Milan celebrated his stage win, a predictable backlash was gathering pace against race leader Pogacar with just four days of racing to come, as Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of the Total Energies team, accused the Slovenian’s UAE Team Emirates XRG squad of arrogance.
“They’re arrogant towards those who just want to live simply alongside them,” the Frenchman said of Pogacar’s team. “I expect their team manager to make that point to them.”
Pogacar was dismissive of the Frenchman’s comments. “Arrogance is something, trying to win the Tour de France is another thing. I think a lot riders would see us as arrogant because we want to control every single kilometre of this race. We don’t try to be arrogant, we just try to make our race as easy as possible. I think – this will sound super arrogant – but some guys can stay quiet.”
On a day in which pro-Palestinian activists waved flags and unfurled banners in Dieulefit as the Tour peloton passed through, Pogacar was also questioned about his feelings on human rights in the UAE.
“I ride for UAE Team Emirates and if you go there, you’ll see how the sport is growing,” Pogacar said. “Kids love us, the locals love us when we ride with them. The sport is growing in the UAE, which I guess is why they have the team, to promote a healthy lifestyle.”
The roadside protest in Dieulefit saw houses draped with Palestinian flags and there were reports of protesters holding up “Starving is Killing” banners as the riders passed through. The town was honoured for sheltering Jewish people during the second world war.
Last Wednesday a protester ran onto the finish line in Toulouse, wearing a T-shirt stating “Israel out of the Tour.” He was tackled by Tour staff and is scheduled to stand trial for endangering the riders.
After that incident, the Israel-Premier Tech team said that it “respects everyone’s right to free speech which includes the right to protest.”
If Pogacar remains in a league of his own, with Vingegaard clinging to his coat tails, the battle for the final podium spot is likely to become intense in the next 48 hours, with Scotland’s Oscar Onley currently the meat in a Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe sandwich.
The German team’s Tour debutant Florian Lipowitz is currently securely placed third overall, with Onley two minutes behind. But his teammate, Primoz Roglic, the most insouciant Grand Tour champion in the race, has now crept into the top five.
Not everyone has been thrilled to see Roglic’s re-emergence over the past few stages. “Won’t be buying Red Bulls anymore,” Onley said on Strava, after the Slovenian moved to 38 seconds behind him, following the Mont Ventoux finish. “Not funding those attacks.”
Meanwhile, volatile weather is predicted for the two remaining mountain stages, Thursday’s high altitude finish on the Col de la Loze, at 2,304 metres and Friday’s climb to the ski station at La Plagne, topping out at 2,o52 metres.
As rain fell heavily on Valence and the Rhone valley, Francois Lemarchand, of race organisers ASO, said that change was in the air. “A few days of cooler weather are coming and we could see a swing of 20 degrees. It will go from very hot to very cold, from one day to the next.”
