For Jonathan Milan, the stage victory at the Tour de France has not yet arrived, but for the Friulian rider, who finished second today in the third stage behind Merlier, there was the satisfaction of conquering the green jersey of the points classification. Unfortunately, crashes were not lacking today, and among the riders forced to withdraw was Jasper Philipsen, the man who was wearing the symbolic jersey of the points classification. Milan made an extraordinary sprint, but the European champion Tim Merlier was slightly faster and by a matter of centimeters crossed the finish line ahead of Milan.

"I can't be extremely happy with a second place - Milan said after the finish line - even if it's always a great result. I'm also happy about the jersey we've conquered".

The Lidl-Trek sprinter hoped for a victory, and the entire team worked to achieve this goal, keeping the Friulian well-positioned at the front in the last 10 kilometers of the race.

"It was a bit of a tough finish, I must say, perhaps a bit too chaotic. However, I think I gave my best in the sprint. Perhaps I should have waited a bit longer to start, but only after the race can you analyze and try to improve".

Stages for sprinters are not many, and for this reason, every time there's a sprint finish, the tension in the group rises, and it's easy to see crashes. "In the end, even how it went can be okay, we must learn. I'm also happy with the form we've started to have and now we must continue to fight. With headwinds like today, it's always difficult: with all the crashes that occurred, it was a different sprint than usual".

And further: "As I said, I should have waited a bit longer to start because with headwinds it's always more difficult. But I must congratulate my team for the work done. The green jersey was our goal from the beginning, and now we must continue like this. I must say I'm very sorry for Jasper and I hope he recovers soon, just as I wish for all the other riders who ended up on the ground".