Tour de France: Jonathan Milan wins Stage 8 in a sprint finish

LAVAL, France (AP) — Italian rider Jonathan Milan timed his attack perfectly to win the eighth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Saturday.

Milan overtook Australian Kaden Groves on his left and held off Belgian rider Wout van Aert to beat him by about half a bike length. Milan won Olympic gold with Italy in team pursuit at the 2021 Tokyo Games and this was his first Tour stage win to go with four on the Giro d'Italia.

Defending champion Tadej Pogačar kept the yellow jersey after finishing in the main pack.

After Friday's tough grind, the peloton set off at a slower pace on a sun-baked Stage 8, starting from the Brittany commune of Saint-Méen-le-Grand and taking riders 171 kilometers (106 miles) to Laval in western France.

The main teams had no will to set a high pace, so the peloton trundled along through country roads until two riders —- French teammates Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Vercher — broke away with about 80 kilometers left.

The peloton did not respond, continuing to roll at a lethargic pace for a long time with no team deciding to lead the chase.

“It was a much more relaxing stage than the previous ones," Pogačar said. “It has been a good day out in order to recover from the many efforts we have already done.”

Pogačar even had time to check how his girlfriend Urška Žigart was doing on the women's Giro. She finished seventh on Stage 7.

“I'm always nervous on the bike when she is racing, and it's great to hear about her,” he said. "When she does well, I feel super happy.”

The pack was taking it a bit too easy in his race, though.

When sprinters realized they were in danger of missing out on a stage win, the peloton's speed had to increase eventually, and the two riders were finally caught with nine kilometers left.

After a sinewy route near the finish, Stage 2 winner Mathieu van der Poel accelerated to put his Alpecin–Deceuninck teammate Groves into a good position, but they attacked a little too soon.

Milan anticipated this, made his own move and withstood Van Aert's late attack behind him. The trio clocked 3 hours, 50 minutes.

“It was a tough finale. I was in the front positions and I waited for the right moment to launch my sprint,” Milan said. “I gave it all and it worked out.”

In the overall standings, double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel remained 54 seconds behind Pogačar in second place. Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin was third at 1 minutes, 11 seconds, and two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard sat 1:17 behind in fourth spot.

Stage 9 of the three-week race heads into central France on a 158-kilometer flat stage for sprinters finishing in Châteauroux.

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France's Matteo Vercher, left, and France's Mathieu Burgaudeau, right, ride breakaway during the eighth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.4 kilometers (106.5 miles) with start in Saint-Meen-le-Grand and finish in Laval Espace Mayenne, France, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Ireland's Ben Healy, right in pink jersey, follows Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and Germany's Nils Politt, left, during the eighth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.4 kilometers (106.5 miles) with start in Saint-Meen-le-Grand and finish in Laval Espace Mayenne, France, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Jonathan Milan, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, crosses the finish line to win the eighth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.4 kilometers (106.5 miles) with start in Saint-Meen-le-Grand and finish in Laval Espace Mayenne, France, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, greets spectators prior to the start of the eighth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.4 kilometers (106.5 miles) with start in Saint-Meen-le-Grand and finish in Laval Espace Mayenne, France, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Jonathan Milan, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the eighth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.4 kilometers (106.5 miles) with start in Saint-Meen-le-Grand and finish in Laval Espace Mayenne, France, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)