Milan wins after a dramatic mass fall – Bauhaus lucky in misfortune!

Milan wins after a dramatic mass fall – Bauhaus lucky in misfortune!

The 17th stage of the Tour de France, which led from Bollène to Valence on July 23, 2025, brought exciting twists and turns. Phil Bauhaus, who was racing for Germany, narrowly avoided a massive crash that split the field into two groups around 1000 meters from the finish. In this chaos, Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan showed his skills and secured his second stage win of this tour. Radio Ennepe Ruhrtal reports that Milan also extended their lead in the points standings to a whopping 50 points over Tadej Pogacar.

The crash, which occurred about 10 kilometers from the finish, cost many sprinters valuable placings. Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay were among those affected. Bauhaus, on the other hand, survived the chaos unscathed and was the best German to reach 12th place after 160.4 kilometers. So far the German sprinters have not shone in the race; Bauhaus’ third place on the third stage is the best result so far. This raises questions about how German sprint strength compares internationally.

In addition to Milan's victory

Jonathan Milan was the big winner of the day, followed by Jordi Meeus and Tobias Lund Andresen. He proved his strength in the sprint not only with the stage win, but also with the great distance that he pulled away from his pursuers. In the last few meters, after the fall, Milan was lucky and was able to get into an advantageous position. Jonas Abrahamsen from Uno-X Mobility dropped out of the leading group, but was caught again just four kilometers from the finish. SRF adds that the overall ranking at the top remained unchanged. This shows how different driver tactics can be at critical moments.

Another highlight was Florian Lipowitz, who stood out as the best young professional and received a lot of support from the fans. Despite the difficulties his team had on the tour so far, Lipowitz was able to maintain his third place overall. He is now 9:03 minutes behind leader Tadej Pogacar.

Outlook for the next stage

The 18th stage is on the program on Thursday, which leads from Vif into the impressive Alps. With 171.5 kilometers and an impressive 5,450 meters in altitude, this stage will certainly be a very special treat for the climbers.

The route leads over three mountain prizes of the highest category and ends in the ski resort of Courchevel, which is at an altitude of around 2300 meters. Riders are eagerly awaiting the challenges this route brings and it remains to be seen how the overall standings will change after this stage. The pressure on the sprinters is certainly not decreasing after recent events.