Escapee Benjamin Thomas surprises sprinters and stunts with victory in fifth Giro stage | Cycling

On paper, the fifth stage from Genoa to Lucca (178 kilometers) was a prey for the sprinters. But at 10 kilometers from the finish, the four escapees still had a lead of 45 seconds. The sprinter teams tried with all their might to catch up with the escapees, but were unable to do so.

Going into the last kilometer, Thomas, Michael Valgren, Andrea Pietrobon and Enzo Paleni had such a lead that they were allowed to sprint for the win. Pietrobon was the first, but Thomas outpaced him and took the win. It is the biggest victory of his career for the 28-year-old Cofidis rider.

The Dane Valgren sprinted to second place, ahead of the Italian Pietrobon. The peloton stormed across the line just six seconds later. Jonathan Milan, who sprinted to victory on Tuesday, was the best rider in the peloton in fifth place. Olav Kooij was the best Dutchman with ninth place. Tadej Pogacar had a trouble-free afternoon and retained the lead in the general classification.

The Giro d’Italia continues on Thursday with a relatively flat stage from Viareggio to Rapolano Terme. The riders will have to tackle two climbs of the fourth category during the 180 kilometer long ride. The Italian stage race finishes in Rome on May 26.

Fabio Jakobsen was considered one of the contenders for victory on Wednesday, but again did not show the best form. The 27-year-old Dutchman from Team dsm-firmenich PostNL had to drop out early on the first climb of the stage, about 130 kilometers from the finish.

Jakobsen’s team guided the sprint cannon over the Passo del Bracco, which with a length of 15 kilometers and an average gradient of 4 percent was a third category climb. Jakobsen crossed the top several minutes behind and then had to give full chase.

Thanks to the work of his teammates, Jakobsen returned to the peloton, but he no longer played a role in the final. The Dutchman, who is in his first Giro, finished almost a minute behind stage winner Thomas in 104th.

In earlier stages, Jakobsen also did not get around to sprinting. He recorded his best result in Tuesday’s stage, when he crossed the line in 22nd.