Tour de France: Milan wins in a sprint, breaking Italy's fast.

With a regal sprint, Jonathan Milan took victory in the eighth stage of the Tour de France , the 171.4km Saint-Meen-le-Grand-Laval Espace Mayenne. The 24-year-old Lidl-Trek native, who grew up with Cycling Team Friuli, dominated in the green jersey . He left behind Belgian Wout Van Aert (Visma Lease a Bike) and Australian Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck).

Italy fasting for 113 stages

But it does even more. It frees Italy from its drought of triumphs at the Grand Boucle, which had lasted 113 stages , six years (2,176 days), with the last victory coming from Vincenzo Nibali on July 27, 2019. A very long period that the giant from Buja – gold medalist with the track quartet at the Tokyo Olympics – has shortened with his talent.

"I still have to fully understand what we've done, it's a dream. When you leave, you always have dreams that you bring from home. I still have to realize them," he commented on French TV. "We were all really focused on what we had to do, and my teammates were phenomenal; they did a great job. I knew I had to wait as long as possible. I really like this finale, but the level here is very high. I'm really happy, and we deserved it. We'll try again on Sunday," added the Italian Olympic track champion.

My teammates were phenomenal. It's a dream.

"This is a victory that means a lot to me and to Italy after this long drought." It's an important day for him, for his growth on the road. "The team helped me so much; they were great. I knew I had to stick it out, and it went well. It was important for me to win the intermediate sprint. Let's hope we can deliver many more."

The Yellow Jersey remains on the shoulders of Tadej Pogacar , the cannibal who breathes a sigh of relief for his UAE teammate, João Almeida, 26 years old from Portugal, one of his favourite domestiques.