Cycling
Not a sprinter, but escapee Benjamin Thomas has won the fifth stage in the Giro. At 80 km from the finish he took off with three companions. The peloton was just unable to close the gap on four.
Benjamin Thomas won the fifth stage of the Tour of Italy on Wednesday afternoon. The 28-year-old Frenchman from Cofidis won in a sprint with four after 178 kilometers between Genoa and Lucca. The Dane Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and the Italian Andrea Pietrobon (Polti Kometa) completed the podium. It is the first victory of the season for Cofidis.
At just over 77 km from the finish, Thomas, Valgren, Pietrobon and Enzo Paleni rode away effortlessly. They were given a lead of a minute and a half, but Lidl-Trek, Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin-Deceuninck did not allow more. At 20 kilometers from the finish, the four still had a lead of one minute, and the stage seemed to turn into a mass sprint for the third time in a row. But the chasing platoon ultimately arrived just too late. Milan won the sprint for fifth place, ahead of Caleb Ewan and Phil Bauhaus.
The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), who immediately unleashed his devils in the second stage on the first uphill finish in Santuario di Oropa on Sunday, remains the leader. The sixth stage will take the riders tomorrow/Thursday along various gravel roads from Viareggio to Rapolano terme.
