Italian Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint finish in the rain on Wednesday.
Milan triumphed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go as riders went down on slippery roads in a chaotic finish at Valence in southeastern France.
UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line safely to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey and maintain a lead of 4 mins 15 secs over rival Jonas Vingegaard.
That means Pogacar secured his 50th yellow jersey aged just 26, something he described as “not too bad a stat”.
“Fairly quiet, it was still a hard day, not an easy one, and in the end, with the really bad weather and visibility, it was pretty hectic and I'm happy that we stay safe and finish the stage quite OK, looking to the next days,” said the Slovenian after a wet and wild finish.
“The bad weather is here, and also the next few days shouldn't be pretty good as well. For me, normally it suits me well, the coldish weather, but the more old I get, the more I prefer the sunshine.”
Frenchmen Quentin Pacher and Mathieu Burgaudeau as well as Jonas Abrahamsen of Norway and Italian Vincenzo Albanese broke away early but stood little chance against the collective power of the sprinters' teams.
With the peloton breathing down their necks, Abrahamsen went solo with 11km remaining, only to be reined in 4.3km from the line.
Milan was the strongest in the reduced sprint, edging out Jordi Meeus of Belgium and Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen, who were second and third respectively.
“I'm really happy and without words, I have to say. I didn't survive alone, I survived always with the help of my teammates. Without them, I would not be here, maybe I would still be dropped on one of the climbs,” said green jersey holder Milan.
“Today was a really tough stage. We controlled from the beginning with the help of some other teams. When I dropped, they also helped me on the first climb, then did a good pace on the second one.
“It was a difficult final because of the weather, to be in first position on the roundabouts. It was a bit scary, but they helped me, supported me. It's a fantastic team victory, and I really have to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Super, super happy for all of us.
“They delivered me in the best position. I was focused, looking forward to it, and it's a really big achievement for all of us.”
Rival sprinter Tim Merlier was involved in the crash under the “flamme rouge” – the triangular red banner over the road signalling the final kilometre.
“The last 25 kilometres were really, really, fast,” said Merlier, who finished 25th, more than a minute behind. “I think I made a mistake. I took one roundabout on the wrong side and I lost a lot of positions. And then I knew I needed to move up. The moment I wanted to move up, I crashed.”
Thursday's Stage 18 is a brutal mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze, one of the most feared ascents in the Tour de France.
“We can't get arrogant, we need to keep it simple and stay quiet,” added Pogacar. “I'm really looking forward to it. I have been beaten there before but I have good legs and maybe I'll get my revenge.”
