Jonathan Milan sprints to his 3rd stage win in the Giro d'Italia

CENTO, Italy — Jonathan Milan sprinted to his third victory in the Giro d’Italia on the 13th stage while Tadej Pogacar fought through crosswinds to keep his overall lead on Friday.

Milan, who also won the fourth and 11th stages, finished comfortably ahead of Stanislaw Aniolkowski and Phil Bauhaus.

His Lidl-Trek team helped to get Milan back to the front after he fell behind due to the winds.

“Simone Consonni was key, pulling with 400 meters to go,” Milan said of a teammate who he also shared gold with in team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics.

An Italian with Lidl-Trek, Milan clocked slightly more than four hours along the entirely flat 179-kilometer (111-mile) route from Riccione to Cento.

It was the fourth Giro victory of Milan’s career, having also won the second stage last year.

Two-time Tour de France champion Pogacar remained 2 minutes, 40 seconds ahead of Daniel Martinez and 2:56 ahead of Geraint Thomas as he attempts to win the Giro and the Tour this year.

But Pogacar had to respond to attacks by Thomas' Ineos team, which tried to take advantage of the crosswinds.

“Every stage in the Giro something happens,” Pogacar said.

Stage 14 on Saturday is a 31-kilometer (19-mile) individual time trial from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda. Then there are three consecutive mountain legs.

“The next days are very important,” Pogacar said.

The Giro ends in Rome in nine days.