Tim Merlier wins the crazy sprint that concluded stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia 2024

After the mountain, and before the final episode on Mount Grappa, a new opportunity for the sprinters of the Giro d'Italia 2024 in the plains of the Po. A quiet day in the peloton despite the very high speed that was resolved following the expected script, with no chance for the day's adventurers.

Tim Merlier aims to overshadow Jonathan Milan

After the intense days we have experienced in the Giro d'Italia 2024, the stage that the organization had prepared for today on the way to Padua, in the endless plains of the Po River, the most important in Italy, near its mouth south of Venice, really feels like very little.

A day in which, despite everything, the breakaway fought a little more than usual until, finally, the peloton gave the green light to several regulars of the breakaways in this Giro d'Italia 2024 such as Filippo Fiorelli, Andrea Pietrobon, Mirco Maestri and one who has been seen less like Mikkel Honoré.

But, as has been happening, the peloton did not give them much margin, a clear sign that the sprinter teams still have energy and the clear objective of not letting any opportunities pass, especially when today was the penultimate one left along with the final stage in Rome since tomorrow's stage, due to its broken route in the final stretch, points to a conclusion for a high-level breakaway and the one on Saturday on Monte Grappa, 100% sure, will be contested among the general classification riders.

There is little more to tell about an unattractive day for the spectator and in which only Edoardo Affini broke the monotony with an attack 60 km from the finish line, when the breakaway was almost caught. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider managed to reach the escapees to whom he gave a second life by stretching the gap to a meager 30 seconds with his effort.

In any case, their chances were totally nil due to the peloton's tight control and, 10 kilometers from the finish line, they were caught. From there to the end, a completely frantic pace through the streets of Padua, with many traps that almost played a bad trick on Thymen Arensman who, 6 km from the finish line, lost contact with the group and had to be reintegrated with the invaluable help of Jhonatan Narváez.

Everything seemed set for a new victory for Jonathan Milan, with Lidl-Trek perfectly positioning him within the last kilometer when, a couple of tight corners before the finish straight made the Italian lose position, leaving him around the 10-15th place in the pack with just 500 m to go.

His lead-out men, dismayed, slowed down their momentum which was seized by others like Alberto Dainese to try to surprise. However, from the center of the group, unbelievably, both Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan managed to find the gap and launched their respective sprints, passing like possessed on each side of the road. The first to do so, Merlier, was the one who came out on top, by a hair's breadth as a powerful Milan was coming back with strength and was just a few meters away from achieving another victory. In any case, this is the second triumph for the Belgian cyclist who will be one short of matching the number of stage wins in the Giro d'Italia 2024 with his Italian rival.

Stage 18 Classification

1. Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) 3h45'44''
2. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) +00''
3. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +00''
4. Alberto Dainese (Tudor) +00''
5. Stanislaw Anolkowski (Cofidis) +00''
6. Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) +00''
7. Madis Mihkels (Intermarché-Wanty) +00''
8. Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) +00''
9. Davide Ballerini (Astana) +00''
10. Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) +00''

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 67h17'02''
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) +7'42''
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +8'04''
4. Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +9'47''
5. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +10'29''
6. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) +11'10''
7. Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL) +12'42''
8. Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) +13'33''
9. Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) +13'52''
10. Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) +14'44''