Giro d'Italia - Stage 5: Sprinters take a gamble: breakaway rider Thomas takes first victory for Cofidis
Sebastian Lindner
· 08.05.2024
The victory was pure redemption. Not only for Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) himself. The 28-year-old Frenchman won the 5th stage of the Giro d'Italia, his first race at World Tour level. Out of a four-man lead group that had formed around 70 kilometres before the end of the stage in Lucca, he won in a sprint against Michael Valgren (EF Education EasyPost) and Andrea Pietrobon, who launched an attack on the Devil's Lap that only came to an end less than 100 metres before the finish line.
The peloton crossed the finish line eleven seconds later, led by Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla). The sprinters' teams had made a mistake. When their gap was still just under a minute at the 10-kilometre mark, it was clear that it was going to be tight. When little had changed 4,000 metres later, only an exaggerated poker game by the breakaway could have prevented their success.
Thomas remembers defeat at the Tour de France
"I didn't believe for a long time that we could get through," said an overjoyed Thomas in the winner's interview. "Nobody would have bet on the breakaway today." In the final kilometres, the group was helped by a tailwind, some cobblestones and a winding city course in Lucca. "It was really great," said Thomas.
The Frenchman has experience of breakaway attempts in major races that fail shortly before the finish. At the Tour de France 2022, Thomas made it to the home straight as a breakaway rider on stage 15 before being caught 400 metres from the end. "On the last kilometre today, I thought about Carcasonne (the finish of that stage) and said to myself: maybe today is my day. It got difficult again in the finale after the attack by the Italian rider. I risked losing because I didn't close the gap. But in the end everything was perfect."
The victory was also perfect for his team. Cofidis was the last World Tour team that had not even been able to celebrate a first place. All the others have at least four victories to their name.
Alpecin-Deceuninck wastes energy on the first climb
Milan and Co. would have liked to have had one more. In the final phase, it was mainly Lidl-Trek that worked in the field. Support from other teams came late - too late. During the first half of the 178-kilometre stage, it was mainly Alpecin-Deceuninck that took care of the chase and caught the first breakaway group around Simon Geschke (Cofidis). Kaden Groves' team had wasted an enormous amount of energy on the first climb of the day in an attempt to outsprint the sprinters. However, the tactic did not work. After the intermediate sprint after around 100 kilometres, the new group had formed and was finally able to make it to the finish.
Nothing has changed in the top 10 of the overall standings. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) continues to lead the classification. The other jersey holders are also the same as the day before. Milan defended the points classification, Pogacar the mountains classification. The best young pro is still Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike).
Giro d'Italia 2024: Results - the top 10 of stage 5
- Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) 3:59:59
- Michael Valgren (EF Education EasyPost) +0:00
- Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa) +0:00
- Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) +0:03
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) +0:11
- Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) +0:11
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:11
- Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:11
- Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:11
- Madis Mihkels (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:11
The current standings in the overall standings
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 19:19:15
- Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:46
- Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:47
- Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:55
- One Rubio (Movistar) +0:56
- Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +1:07
- Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek) +1:11
- Jan Hirt (Soudal - Quick Step) +1:13
- Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +1:26
- Esteban Chaves (EF Education EasyPost) +1:26
How the 5th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2024 went
It was a strange start to stage 5. Immediately after the somewhat delayed, sharp start, a trio went on the offensive, chased by Simon Geschke (Cofidis) and Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizane). Ewen Costiou (Arkea-B&B Hotels) quickly dropped back from the trio, leaving Mattia Bais (Polti-Kometa) and Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) alone. It took a few more kilometres for Geschke and his Italian companion to catch up.
With 164 kilometres to go, a leading quartet rode ahead of the peloton and I was able to gain up to two minutes. The gap briefly shrank to less than half a minute on a climb and the impression arose that the group would be caught again. But in the peloton, Alpecin-Deceuninck, which was doing the tempo work, continued to reduce the already slow pace. At the same time, things got a little faster again at the front, so that the leaders rode out of sight again and extended their lead.
Geschke placed after the mountain classification, new group goes after sprint
The group went into the Passo del Bracco (3rd category), the longest climb of the day at 15 kilometres, with a one-minute lead. They arrived at the top with twelve seconds. Geschke secured nine mountain points there. The group was then dropped on the descent. Meanwhile, Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Caleb Ewan (Jayco - AlUla) were dropped from the peloton.
The long descent was completed 100 kilometres before the finish and Alpecin picked up the pace again. Completely. The sprinters who had been left behind came back. But there were no new attacks for a long time. Not even 80 kilometres before the finish. There, the intermediate sprint was taken, which Groves won ahead of Milan and Kooij.
But immediately afterwards. The teams were the same, the riders different. Benjamin Thomas for Cofidis, Enzo Paleni for Groupama-FDJ, Andrea Pietrobon for Polti-Kometa, and - new - Michael Valgren for EF Education EasyPost quickly pulled away. But even this quartet was not left more than a minute and a half behind.
Main field resigns, Thomas still catches Pietrobon
Pietrobon secured the Intergiro classification just 60 kilometres from the end. Then, with a tailwind, the race headed towards Camaiore, where the last sprint of the day was taken. Thomas rode over the line without a fight before the group went into the last mountain classification (4th category) with a 60-second lead. But the gap remained unchanged with 15 kilometres to go. Lidl-Trek didn't get any support in the lead at first, before Soudal - Quick Step and Jayco - AlUla joined in.
But it wasn't going to be enough. When the gap under the Devil's Lap was still half a minute, the peloton gave up. Shortly afterwards, Pietrobon attacked from the group, having not led for a long time. But Valgren and Thomas caught the Italian less than 100 metres before the finish line. The Frenchman then won the duo's sprint.
