Monday 28 February will certainly go down as a big day in the career of Milan Menten.
The 26-year-old Belgian, who joined Lotto Dstny this year from Bingoals Pauwels Sauces, overhauled Hugo Hofstetter on the deceptively difficult, draggy finish in Dour to win the cobbled semi-classic Le Samyn– only the third pro win of his career, and definitely the biggest so far.
🇧🇪 Milan Menten gets his first win for @lotto_dstny with a fantastic 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕 finish in Le Samyn as Kasper Asgreen 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 out! 🥇 #LeSamyn | @MilanMentenpic.twitter.com/QWZhVnT51X
— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 28, 2023
And, just like Biniam Girmay’s podium prosecco debacle at last year’s Giro d’Italia, Menten followed his breakthrough victory by immediately injuring himself in the celebrations.
> Biniam Girmay out of Giro d’Italia with eye injury after bizarre podium prosecco incident
Menten’s post-win mishap was even more prompt than Girmay’s cork to the eye, however. As he crossed the line, he jabbed his left arm in the air – and dislocated his shoulder in the process.
At the finish, the Lotto Dstny rider told reporters that he, rather understandably, “cheered a bit too crazy” after sprinting to the win, causing his shoulder to dislocate.
“I braked with my other hand as quickly as possible and pushed everything into place,” he said. “I now know how to do that, because it has happened before.”
The 26-year-old, who told Sporza that his shoulder was “a bit stiff, still”, said that the injury forced him to “cheer and yell ‘ouch’ at the same time” as he crossed the line.
“But that took away the pain in the legs a bit,” he laughed.
Bike riders, eh?