Giro stage 5 starts in Genoa photo: CorVos
Milan wear Mariachi Clamino after they won the day before photo: CorVos
Giro d’Italia 2024 Stage 5 Course Profile photo: RCS Sport
The athletes, who had gone south-west the day before, will now go south-west on the Tyrrhenian Sea from their starting point in Genoa. The fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia is a 178km course classified as a hilly plateau, and the finish point is Lucca, the birthplace of Mario Cipollini, famous for his 42 Giro wins and for his jersey unusual
There were only two types of mountains on this day: class 3 at the beginning (the slope was gentle but the climbing distance was long at 15.3km) and class 4 which reached the top at 21.1km at the end. The last 3km of the race through the town of Lucca has a series of loose corners, so the key to the sprint was expected to be the leader’s skill in guiding the ace sprinter through the shortest distance.
Jonathan Millan (Italy, Riddle Trek), who overcame 2nd place five times since last year to secure his long-awaited victory, awaits the start at the front of the group wearing the familiar Mariachi Clamino (point award jumper). Next to him was Maria Rosa’s Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE), whose bib shorts were colored pink, as the 170 athletes started running at 1pm local time.
Jumping out early, Simon Geschke (Germany, Cofidis) and four others formed a breakaway group. photo: CorVos
Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE) dyed his whole body in the color of Maria Rosa photo: RCS Sport
In addition to the temperature of 20 degrees, the two riders continued the attack of Lewis Askey (Groupama FDJ, UK) in a clear cloudless sky. They were joined by Simon Geschke (Germany, Cofidis) and Manuele Trozzi (Italy, VF Groupe Baldiani CSF Faisane), and shortly afterwards Ewen Kostew (France, Alkea B&B Hotels) returned to the main group, leaving his ‘a total of four groups were formed.
Leading the way for the peloton were Amanuel Gebreig Xavier (Eritrea, Riddle Trek) and Alpecin Deceuninck, who had been in the lead for a long time the day before. When they entered the third stage mountain, Alpecin, aiming for a sprint victory at Caden Groves (Austria), he picked up the pace, and as expected, Fabio Jacobsen (Netherlands, DSM Firmenich Post NL), Caleb Ewan (Australia, Jayco AlUla). ), etc. The Pure Sprinter was falling behind.
Geschke passed in front of the group, who had the highest lead of 1 minute 45 seconds, but suddenly collapsed on the 3rd grade mountain, earning 9 mountain points. Alpecin, who wanted to press the sprinters and separate them, was running at a high speed and was able to take the breakaway with 111km left. However, with less than 100km remaining, Alpecin suddenly stopped pulling away, and Jacobsen and other sprinters, who at one point were four minutes ahead, returned to the peloton one by one.
Just like the day before, Amanuel Gebreig Xavier (Eritrea, Riddle Trek) will lead the peloton today as well. photo: CorVos
Proton running parallel to Maria Rosa’s pink painted train photo: RCS Sport
With no new escape opportunities, the main group remained in one place for the intermediate sprint with 78.8km remaining. With Christophe Laporte (France, Wisma-Lies-A-Bijk) in the lead, Olaf Kooi (Netherlands), Milan, and Groves went out for maximum points. Here, Groves came first (12 points), and immediately after, a group of four escaped the attack of Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis, France).
Breakaway group formed with 77km remaining
Benjamin Thomas (France, Cofidis)
Mikel Valgren (Denmark, EF Education Easypost)
Enzo Pareni (France, Groupama FDJ)
Andrea Pietrobon (Porti Cometa, Italy)
Accepting this escape, Gebreig Xavier began to lead the peloton again, and Alpecin and Soudal Quickstep were brought in to set the pace. At the Intergiro (58.2km), 25-year-old Pietro Bon, who has the face of a piano, passed first. In the main group, Groves passed the lead again (3 points), and behind him Laporte, with a European champion jersey with a tear on the left shoulder, returned to the group.
A new escape group of four photo: CorVos
Alpecin and Riddle are leading the charge, but the gap is not closing. photo: CorVos
The runaway group could not extend their lead up to 1.5 minutes, and they passed the remaining 30km with a 1-minute difference. On the other hand, in preparation for the third consecutive day of group sprints, the Proton, which is always within range, suffered an accident involving seven riders. Visma’s Attila Walter (Hungary) was involved, as were Michael Woods (Canada, Israel Premier Tech) and Tobias Voss (Norway, Ineos Grenadiers). However, without impressing most of the riders, Valgren took the lead over the last class 4 mountain, and the race entered a flat road to the finish.
As usual, Riddle will be at the front of the peloton, with Alpecin putting one person in the lead. On the other hand, Soudal, who wanted to leave as many players for the last stage, did not move forward, and there was a scene where Riddle and Alpecin blamed him for this. From this point on, the gap did not decrease with the first four riders, who aimed for the finish line through a diligent circuit.
The leading group felt a sense of urgency, and with less than 13 kilometers to go, Soudal and Jayco Al-Ullah finally sent riders out to lead the race, with Visma also joining them. However, with 10km remaining, the gap was 45 seconds, and with 5km remaining, it was 40 seconds, so all four riders maintained a speed of 60km/h and passed Flamme Rouge (1km remaining) without be caught. With a lead of 22 seconds at this stage, victory in the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia was left to the four riders who ran away.
Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis, France) won the sprint with Valgren photo: CorVos
Pietro Bon, not a fan of sprint competitions, jumped out just before the final, and Valgren and Paleni pulled him back. With Paleni hanging his head in frustration, Valgren and Toma started the sprint with 50 meters left. The battle, in which both athletes fought hard, was decided with victory for Toma, who is also the current European track champion.
Benjamin Thomas (France, Cofidis) shares the joy of victory with his teammates photo: RCS Sport
Benjamin Thomas (France, Cofidis) gets his first prize on the Grand Tour photo: Cofidis
Thomas, a Frenchman living in Italy, took his first Grand Tour victory on familiar ground. “The road to the finish was like a long team pursuit. A truly unbelievable victory. With 10km to go, I started thinking about winning and I thought it would be possible if I kept going at 60km/h. Winning in Italy, my second home. I’m very happy to have done that,” he said, looking back on his amazing victory.
This was also the first win of the season for Cofidis, who have been suffering from a slump.
Proton, who came 11 seconds behind, beat Ewan and Milan in the lead. Although they missed out on victory, Milan were able to add 14 points and extend their lead over Mariachi Clamino.
2024-05-08 23:23:00
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