photo credits @ Giro d’Italia
Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) took a stunning victory in stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia today, out-sprinting Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and Andrea Pietrobon (Polti Kometa) in Lucca, while Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) brought up the rear just ahead of the peloton that was being led by points classification leader Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).
Meanwhile, Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mihkels Madis (Intermarche-Wanty) completed the top 10, with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) retaining the pink leader’s jersey.
Thomas, Valgren, Paleni and Pietrobon were part of the day’s breakaway effort that rode clear of the peloton with 80km to go and survived out front until the day’s dramatic finale.
Earlier, the rush for the mid-race bonuses saw Visma-Lease a Bike’s Christophe Laporte go down in a nasty crash. But, the French rider managed to remount and rejoin the field, only for a number of other crashes to plague the peloton during the final hour of racing.
Among the casualties was the Canadian duo of Michael Woods and Riley Pickrell (both Israel Premier-Tech), along with Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers). However, none sustained any serious injury.
Back up front, as the break reached the Cat.4 climb of the Montemagno, the escapees were still clinging to a one-minute advantage as the race descended into Lucca, with only Lidl-Trek and Jayco-AlUla committed to the chase.
With 3km remaining, the leaders were still holding onto a 35-second lead, with Pietrobon opening up his sprint with 900m to go.
But, finishing kicks from Thomas and Valgren saw the Italian rider’s hopes evaporate.
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