Giro d’Italia, Benjamin Thomas wins in Lucca

Giro d'Italia, Benjamin Thomas wins in Lucca

The French Cofidis bearer Benjamin Thomas won the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia 2024, 18 km from Genoa to Lucca, with only one Grand Prix of the Mountain, the Bracco Pass, moreover very far from the finish line.

A stage therefore theoretically suited to sprinters, but Thomas surprised the peloton in the final part of the stage by going into a breakaway with three other men, Dane Michael Valgren (EF Educational – Easypost) and Italians Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti Kometa) and Enzo Paleni (Groupama – FDJ), and beating them in a sprint in that order. The top group è arrived 11 seconds apart and è was set by yesterday’s winner Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek).

These are the statements of Thomas immediately after the finish: "&It was like a long track chase. In the finish every tear was taken at full throttle. With 10 km to go, with 50 seconds to go, I started to think we could go for the win. We also had the wind in our favor. In the last kilometer I remembered Carcassonne, where I missed the win in similar conditions, and I thought maybe today would be my day. I almost lost when Andrea Pietrobon attacked. Maybe it was destiny to take my first big win in Italy, where I live, and I am happy to have achieved my first success for Cofidis. I saw my teammates very happy".

Instead, here are statements from UAE Emirates Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who retained the pink jersey: "Today è was an interesting day. The last hour è was very fast with a very tense finish. The breakaway è remained in front because è è it was born late and nobody è managed to patch it up. Tomorrow will be a stage to ride carefully so as not to lose time". In fact, the sixth stage, the 180-kilometer Torre del Lago Puccini-Rapolano Terme, will be very challenging and will pass partially on the route of the Strade Bianche, the’now coveted March classic that arrives in Piazza del Campo in Siena.