Frenchman Benjamin Thomas takes a surprise victory in Lucca on stage five of the Giro d’Italia as Tadej Pogacar retains his overall lead.
Benjamin Thomas of France got the biggest victory of his career on the road as he won the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia while Tadej Pogacar kept the leader’s pink jersey on Wednesday. In a surprising result, Thomas won from a breakaway, sprinting to edge out Michael Valgren and Andrea Pietrobon at the end of the undulating 178-kilometer (111-mile) route from Genoa to Lucca. “It was like a long, long, long team pursuit,” Thomas said with a laugh.
The two-time Tour de France champion is hoping to be fit for the Grand Depart in seven weeks
Thomas is chasing Tadej Pogacar at the Giro d’Italia as a career built on resilience and spirit nears its close