How Jonathan Milan and Lidl-Trek are storming the world top: "Team asked to use me as a lead-out"
Not so long ago, we talked about Fabio Jakobsen, Dylan Groenewegen, and Mark Cavendish in bunch sprints, but nothing changes as quickly as the sprint field in cycling. Last winter, Lidl-Trek brought on board Jonathan Milan, a diamond in the rough, and the now 23-year-old Italian was rapidly transformed into an almost unbeatable sprinter. IDLProCycling.com dove into the key players of his success in the sprint train that was set up in December.
Milan is in his fourth season in the WorldTour, where he first came onto the radar in 2022. After throwing himself into bunch sprints for Bahrain Victorious in the Tour of Poland and the Tour of Germany, he won two sprints and the points jersey in the CRO Race. In 2023, he started off well with stage victories in the Saudi Tour and then broke through in the Giro d'Italia. On the second day, he won the first sprint opportunity and took the lead in the points classification. Thanks to four (!) second places in the Giro sprints, he successfully brought that purple jersey to Rome in his grand tour debut.
"He's only getting attention now, but he already won in the Giro last year and was incredibly strong in his first seasons in the WorldTour," emphasizes team director Grégory Rast. "He's always been a beast, but he often did lead-outs for others. When we signed him, we wanted to sprint with him, and he wanted that too. In last year's Giro, we saw that if we got him in the right position in the sprint, he would normally win."
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In 2023, Milan already won a Giro stage for Bahrain Victorious
Theuns and Consonni as Milan's regular lead-outs
To achieve this, the team sought reliable helpers, who were already with Lidl-Trek. Edward Theuns, 33, has been with the team since 2016 and was thrilled about Milan's arrival. "I had done a few lead-outs for Mads Pedersen previously, but I wasn't a fixed part of the sprint train. Throughout my career, I've had opportunities to sprint myself and perform lead-outs for second or third-tier sprinters, and I've always been comfortable in that role. However, I never really had a top-tier sprinter like Milan on my wheel," the Belgian explained.
When Milan was recruited, Theuns took a proactive approach. "I personally asked the team to use me in his lead-out, along with Simone Consonni." The duo received the green light from Lidl-Trek, says Rast. "You can't bring in a sprinter and not have a lead-out. Mads already had a train, so from December we built a sprint train for Jonathan, with two men who went to all the races he did. Jonathan, Simone, and Edward went together to Valencia and the Tirreno to get to know each other and find a working method and balance to be competitive."
"This winter at the training camps, we already did some lead-outs as training, where everything went very smoothly," Theuns states. "We also tested different setups, where sometimes Simone or I would be the last man. Because 'Jonny' (as Milan is known within the team and in the peloton, ed.) and Simone know each other very well from the track, we decided to put someone he was familiar with in front of him as the last man."
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Consonni and Milan have a shared history on the track
It's easy to forget, but alongside his career as a road cyclist, Milan also has a successful career as a track cyclist. Together with Consonni and Filippo Ganna, he has won multiple medals in the Team Pursuit at various championships. In 2021, Italy became world champions, and in 2023, European champions. The most significant medal, however, came in Tokyo 2021, where the Italians won gold thanks to Ganna. Milan also secured the European championship in the Individual Pursuit in 2021 and 2023.
That there was a strong engine in him was well known at Lidl-Trek. With Consonni and Theuns, they therefore sought the ideal tuning to make the most of that raw power. "It's about communication in the race and how you prepare the train for competitions. But it's not a PlayStation, a textbook lead-out like on day thirteen of this Giro maybe happens only one in ten times," Rast emphasizes. "Something always happens, but ultimately those guys always find each other, and Jonathan blindly trusts them. That's the key, and you can't simulate that in training. You can train the power of a sprint, but the trust in the lead-out only comes in races."
Theuns notes that Milan relies on his train. "Simone and I have gained a lot of experience by sprinting ourselves, without much help from others. That has given us good qualities for the lead-out. The fact that Jonathan and Simone know each other well is also crucial. The first lead-outs in the Tour of Valencia went pretty well immediately, but the level in that race was still somewhat lower. In the Tirreno, we won two stages, but I felt that we hadn’t yet maximized our sprint train. The confidence still needed to grow."
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Edward Theuns, happy with a stage win from Milan
Stuyven adds a "nice bonus", Kooij's exit is "unfortunate"
"In this Giro, we are fortunate to also have Daan Hoole and Jasper Stuyven. They really make a difference in the final kilometers," says Theuns. Stuyven, who had recently recovered from a broken collarbone sustained in Dwars door Vlaanderen, is referred to by Rast as " a nice bonus." "Jasper isn't typically part of the sprint train, but his racing schedule made it possible for him to participate in the Giro. It’s a special and very important advantage, as it strengthens us considerably. It’s a great setup for Jonathan."
Another advantage noted by the Swiss team director is the priority given to winners. "Jonathan has now earned the respect of the peloton, where suddenly everyone is fighting for his wheel instead of the other way around. We are the ones being pursued, not the pursuers. This simplifies things for the sprint train because it’s less likely that anyone will disrupt our formation. There's a battle for every position behind us, which also contributes to our strength."
It also helped that two of Milan’s key rivals in this Giro had to drop out. Tim Merlier, a stage winner on day three, crashed and has been struggling with his health at Soudal-Quick Step. Olav Kooij, who outpaced Milan on day nine, had to abandon the Tour of Italy due to illness the following day. "On one hand, it's regrettable for the prestige of the sprints," Theuns comments. "But on the other hand, I think it’s really beneficial for us as a new sprint train to succeed, building greater mutual trust and hopefully preparing us to compete with the top sprinters in the future."
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Is Jonathan Milan already among the world's best sprinters?
Milan himself doesn't yet see himself among the world's elite. Before the Giro, he cautiously addressed this when asked, saying, "I need to make more strides towards the top of the world rankings. I count myself among the top ten sprinters currently, but there’s still room to grow." Theuns also believes there is significant potential for improvement. "Though I think he's quite close to the top. A bit more experience might help him remain calmer and conserve more energy. However, only time will tell where he stands compared to the world’s fastest. But I would definitely place him in the top five right now."
With this, Rast reveals that Milan has a great mindset. "I've only known him since December, so my insights are limited, but he’s the team clown on the bus and is very laid-back. Yet, he is also fiercely competitive. When things don’t work out, he’s not shy about expressing himself because he wants everything to be perfect. His mood can shift quickly, but he has a strong character and an engaging personality."
"Milan is a very pleasant guy," Theuns adds when asked. "He likes to have fun, and I think he and Simone bring a lively energy to the team. On the other hand, you can see that he demands a lot from the team staff and the equipment where necessary. Ultimately, I think that’s characteristic of winners. They always want the best. Since he's still young and new to the team, it was initially a bit of a search for him to find out who to approach for various issues, but he has since found his way."