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For the sprinters at the Tour de France, that was probably that. No more opportunities. Stage 17 from Bollène to Valence was more than likely their final chance to win. Jonathan Milan took full advantage in torrential rain, taking his second win of the race and strengthening his lead in the points classification, but behind many of his rivals were taken out by a crash under the flamme rouge.
The scoreboard among the fastmen reads: Milan 2, Tim Merlier 2, and already departed Jasper Philipsen 1. The rest? Zilch. It’s easy to understand why the crash in the finishing kilometre, that was caused when a Picnic PostNL rider touched wheels with a Uno-X Mobility rider, left many despondent.
