ANDORRA, ITALY (AP) — Day 4 of the first game Giro d'ItaliaTadej Pogačar finally calmed down.
The Slovenian's overall lead remained unchanged and the spotlight was on the sprinters, with Jonathan Millan winning Tuesday's fourth stage with a collective finish.
Pogačar, who is aiming to win both this year's Giro and Tour de France, was the center of attention in the opening three stages.
In stage one, he quickly gained time against all his direct competitors and finished third in the sprint. He then won the second stage to claim the pink jersey, and almost caught the sprinters off guard with a late attack on the third stage.
This time Pogačar was sitting firmly in the peloton as Milan beat Caden Grove and Phil Bauhaus on the line to win his second Giro after last year's second stage victory.
Riddle Trek team Milan also regained the points jersey they won last year.
Milan also competes in cycling track events and helped Italy win the gold medal in team overtaking at the Tokyo Olympics.
Two-time Tour de France champion Pogačar maintained a 46-second lead over Geraint Thomas and 47 seconds over Daniel Martinez.
Milano took just over four hours to complete the 190-kilometre (118-mile) route from Acqui Terme to the seaside town of Andorra. This route followed part of the same road used on the classic road from Milan to San Remo.
There was a third category climb in the middle of the stage, followed by a short climb to Capo Mere, ending with less than 3km to the finish. What followed was a short but fast descent. The last 800 meters were flat.
Francisco Muñoz and Stéphane de Bodo, who had been involved in an early runaway, were caught up by the main group with just a few kilometers left. Filippo Ganna, a time trial specialist, then attacked Capo Mele alone, but was caught just in front of the finish line and began a sprint.
“My teammate on the track team, Ganna, really put the pressure on me, but he helped us in a way,” Milan said. “And (teammate) Simone Consoni had a great lead-out. And then it was just a matter of playing my cards.”
Eritrean rider Binium Gilmay continues to have bad luck at the Giro The race was extended because he fell twice on the rainy and slippery road and had to abandon the race. Two years ago, Garmey was celebrating becoming the first black African to win a Grand Tour stage when a cork popped out of a bottle of Italian sparkling wine, forcing him to abandon the race.
Wednesday's fifth stage will follow a undulating 178-kilometer (111-mile) route from Genoa to Lucca, which could see even more fireworks from Pogacar.
The Giro concludes in Rome on May 26th.
___
AP Cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
