A breakaway of four riders denied the sprinters their chance for a win today in Stage 5 of the 2024 Giro d’Italia, with Ben Thomas of the Cofidis squad crossing the line just ahead of a surging peloton.
Stage 5 of the 2024 Giro d’Italia, the 178 km long Genova-Lucca route, represented the third big chance for the sprinters. The peloton, 170 riders strong, crossed the start line at 1:12 p.m. Biniam Girmay, who would have been ones of those contesting the sprint today, did not start after dropping out mid stage yesterday due to a number of crashes.
The stage passes almost entirely along the Statale Aurelia, following its every bend and undulation. Intricate, however not too demanding, the route passes Camaiore, takes in a short ascent to Montemagno, descends along the Val Freddana and leads all the way to the finish in Lucca.
As we pick up TV coverage, the peloton is all together. There was a 4-man break earlier in the stage with Simon Geschke, Manuele Tarozzi, Lewis Askey and Mattia Bais, but they only ever managed a 1’40” gap and were caught with 100km to go.
While maglia rosa Tadej Pogacar was safe in the arms of his UAE Team Emirates squad in the peloton, Tim Merlier was struggling to hang on at the back.
With the exception of some accelerations for intermediate sprint points, the peloton was cruising at a leisurely 40km/h.
Kaden Groves took the intermediate sprint at Ceprana ahead of Koolj and Milan, and the sprint sparked a new breakaway group of Ben Thomas (Cofidis), Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), Enzo Paleni(Groupama-FDJ) and Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti Kometa) with a lead of 1’32”. So far, they have the blessing of the peloton.
With 40km to go, the leaders had a little over a minute lead over the peloton.
Down to 10km and the break still was 45 seconds up the road. Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek and Intermarche Wanty were leading the chase. The pace was up to 62km/h but the gap was not coming down.
4km to go for the leaders and the peloton was not getting any closer. It increasingly looked like the stage winner would come from this quartet. Alpecin-Deceuninck was chasing now, but the gap was still 23 seconds.
Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti Kometa) madę the attack inside of the final kilometer, but it was Ben Thomas who had the legs at the line.
Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the stage winner Benjamin Thomas said: “It was like a long team pursuit. It was an amazing break. Every pull in the final was full gas. With 10km to go, with 50 seconds, I started to think that we could go for the win. With the tailwind, we could play with the bunch. In the last kilometre I’ve remembered Carcassonne where I missed out on the win in similar conditions, I’ve thought maybe today is my day. I have taken the risk to lose when the Italian rider [Andrea Pietrobon] rode solo. Maybe it was my destiny to take my first big win in Italy where I live and I’m glad to deliver the first win for Cofidis. I’ve seen my team-mates super happy”.
The Maglia Rosa Tadej Pogacar said: “It was an interesting day today. The last hour or so was very fast. It was very tense coming to Lucca. The breakaway stayed in front because it was a late breakaway. Tomorrow will be a stage to be careful and not lose any time”.
Stage 5 Brief Results
- Ben Thomas (Cofidis)
- Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost)
- Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti Kometa)
- Enzo Paleni(Groupama-FDJ)
General Classification After Stage 5
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) at 46″
- Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora – Hansgrohe) at 47″
Jerseys
The leader jerseys of the Giro d’Italia are produced and designed by CASTELLI.
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Enel – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, in collaboration with Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale and ITA Italian Trade Agency – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna (KOM), sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider, born after 01/01/1999, sponsored by Eataly – Cian Uijtdebroeks (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
Websites:
Bike World News
Ron’s Bike Garage
Current Bike Quiver:
Bird Bikes Zero 29 29″ hardtail mountain bike
Commencal Absolut 26″ Dirt Jump/Pump Track bike
Commencal Tempo 29″ full suspension mountain bike
Felt ZA 700c race bike
Kona Kilauea vintage 26″ mountain bike
Niner RLT9 700c road/gravel bike
Specialized Stumpjumper vintage 26″ mountain bike
Day Job: Digital Marketing
Night Job: Digital Marketing, eCommerce Consultant, Web Consultant, Bike Shop Operator, Husband, Dad, Tenor