French rider Benjamin Thomas outsprinted his breakaway colleagues to win the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia, giving the Cofidis workforce their first victory this yr.
The four-man break escaped the peloton after the ultimate intermediate dash of the day, with 80km left to trip, and held off the chasing pack regardless of the very best efforts of the primary dash contenders’ groups.
Dwelling rider Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa) regarded set to achieve the road first after the 178km trip from Genoa to Lucca, however his push for victory contained in the final kilometre got here too early, and he was caught earlier than the end….