Milan wins Tour stage 17 in sprint finish

Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory of this year's Tour de France by winning a sprint finish on stage 17.

A bunch finish was expected on the 160.4km stage from Bollene to Valence and with 4km remaining, the peloton caught the final rider from a four-man breakaway.

Rain was pouring for the final 30km and Milan's sprint rivals Tim Merlier and Biniam Girmay were involved in a crash just inside the final kilometre.

Milan then proved too strong for Jordi Meeus as the 24-year-old Italian strengthened his grip on the green jersey for points classification leader.

The Lidl-Trek rider, 24, stretched his lead by 61 points to give him a 72-point advantage over reigning champion Tadej Pogacar.

Wearing the yellow jersey, Pogacar crossed safely in the peloton and there was no change in the top 10 of the general classification standings - so the three-time Tour winner maintains his overall race lead of four minutes 15 seconds.

"We still have some tough days that await us, the climbs," said Milan. "But at the moment, we've had a lot of fun, and I'm really happy with how it's going.

"We'll keep fighting for the intermediate [sprints] and on the last day for the stage, but we'll see how it goes. We have a bit more distance with the points and I'm a bit more relaxed, but I will keep fighting."