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Follow us on GoogleBenjamin Thomas (Cofidis) clinched the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia. In a gripping finale in Lucca, he was the quickest among a late breakaway of four, catching the peloton off guard.
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For the third day in a row, the peloton started with what seemed like a good chance for the fast sprinters, which is why so many of them made their way down to the Grande Partenza in Turin. While the previous days involved cautiously climbing small hills towards the end of the stage, today, the initial elevation was especially intimidating.
The race began in Genoa, surrounded by hills. Following the coast south, the riders faced an early climb, but it started off quietly. Ewen Costiou (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) and Mattia Bais (Polti-Kometa) broke away early on, succeeding on their first try.
Jakobsen in trouble early on
Simon Geschke (Cofidis) and Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani) managed to join them, but in the meantime, doubts were already striking back in the team leader's car of Arkéa-B&B Hotels. Costiou, their top man for the tougher stages, was told to drop back down to the peloton. There, meanwhile, the spurters' teams Soudal Quick-Step (Merlier) and Lidl-Trek (Milan) posted themselves in the lead, allowing TV viewers to marvel at the beautiful Ligurian coast for a while.
Central to this stage was the Passo del Bracco, a 15.9-kilometer climb at 3.8 percent. Heading toward this obstacle, the Alpecin-Deceuninck men were nestled at the front of the peloton, knowing that their fast man Kaden Groves is an excellent climber. Jimmy Janssens set the pace on behalf of the team and that very quickly led to difficulties for Fabio Jakobsen, who had Gijs Leemreize and Julius van den Berg with him as bodyguards, just like Tuesday.
Continue reading below the video.
This meant another tough ride for Jakobsen, but he wasn’t the only one struggling. Near the summit, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Giovanni Lonardi (Polti-Kometa) also had to let the lead group go, though they managed to catch up on the descent thanks to their teams’ quick response.
Stage plagued by crashes
After the climb, Alpecin-Deceuninck relaxed for a bit, which slowed the peloton down significantly. This allowed Jakobsen to quickly catch up, and the group proceeded together towards Lucca. A sprinting stretch along the way turned dramatic when Christophe Laporte crashed.
Riding for Visma | Lease a Bike, Laporte was chatting with an Alpecin-Deceuninck colleague but missed a pothole and took a hard fall. He was briefly left behind, visibly shaken, with a sore ankle and scrapes, but soon remounted his bike and rejoined the peloton.
Continue reading below the video.
As Laporte struggled, four riders seized the moment after the sprint to break away. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) and Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa) took off, prompting the sprinters’ teams to quickly regroup. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek worked together to keep the breakaway within reach.
Later, another crash at 33 kilometers from the finish involved Alan Riou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Davide Piganzoli, Giovanni Lonardi (Polti-Kometa) and Riley Pickrell (Israel-Premier Tech). Pickrell, in particular, had to pause due to a head injury sustained in a collision with street furniture. Daniel Felipe Martínez, third in the overall standings and riding for BORA-hansgrohe, was also caught up but continued with just a few scratches.
The "hopeless" breakaway made things difficult for the peloton
As the race continued, the nervousness increased, partly because the sprinters' teams struggled to catch the breakaway.
The pace was high, but with fifteen kilometers to go, the breakaway still had a one-minute advantage. Additional teams like Jayco AlUla, Visma | Lease a Bike and Intermarché-Wanty were called in to help, but the lead remained around 45 seconds heading into the technical final phase, which was significant considering that there were just seven kilometers left.
Thomas was the driving force at the front, while behind him, one by one, riders got worn out. Despite the efforts of strong riders like Josef Cerny and Edoardo Affini, they couldn't close the gap immediately. With three kilometers remaining, the breakaway still held a thirty-second advantage, and then the pace unexpectedly dropped...
Pietrobon, who had been pretending he couldn't keep up, suddenly attacked under the banner. Like a thief in the night, he surged away from his fellow escapees, but the others didn't let him go. Thomas ultimately proved to be stronger than Valgren and won the stage. The sprint in the peloton was won by Milan.
Results of stage 5 Giro d'Italia 2024
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Checking out the European course beforehand is smart. Hope she enjoys racing at home, whatever the result.jennifer1902-11-2026
- How does the starting order get decided in cyclocross? Eighth sounds impressive if she had to work her way through the whole field.cadencekingm02-11-2026
- The article’s timeline seems a bit muddled: it says this was the 2026 Koppenbergcross, then calls it her final race of 2025–Still, her progress is encouraging.pedalpowe2902-11-2026
- It’s lovely to see her smiling and thanking the fans. Taking things week by week sounds like the right approach after such a difficult year.patriciaw02-11-2026
- Eighth after starting on the back row at the Koppenberg is a strong ride. Good to see Fem building race rhythm without the pressure of chasing victories.tourdeforce902-11-2026
- I don’t understand how you can break vertebrae and not feel much pain there. Does that mean the collarbone injury was just more noticeable, or can spinal fractures sometimes cause very little pain? Hope he’s fully healed soon.sprocketspiny01-11-2026
- The recovery-score details are interesting, but they’re not a substitute for proper medical advice. Hopefully the team are keeping a close eye on him and letting the scans—not the urge to train—set the timetable.jennifer1901-11-2026
- Pogacar’s point about the safety gap between the Tour and smaller races is spot on. Riders are going faster than ever, yet some finishes still have awkward turns and road furniture right in the finale. Organisers need to take this seriously.gearguru3301-11-2026
- Two extra vertebrae fractures is a frightening discovery, especially after the concussion and collarbone injury. Glad he’s recovering, but it shows why coming back too soon would be a terrible risk.breakawaybikerd01-11-2026
- The team says it wants answers “as quickly as possible”, but speed shouldn’t come at the expense of a thorough investigation. Since Picnic PostNL commissioned it, will the full report be published? The team’s transparency will matter as much as who leads the inquiry.cyclechamp4530-10-2026
