\n<\/p>\n
France’s Benjamin Thomas took a surprise victory in Lucca on stage five of the Giro d\u2019Italia as Tadej Pogacar retained his overall lead.<\/b><\/p>\n
Thomas, along with Enzo Paleni, Andrea Pietrobon and Michael Valgren, separated midway through the 178km stage and managed to stay ahead of the chasing peloton until the end. <\/p>\n
Pietrobon was the first to attack in the final kilometre but the Italian began to fade, which allowed Cofidis rider Thomas to execute a well-timed sprint finish and seal the win. <\/p>\n
Denmark’s Valgren was second, with Pietrobon having to settle for third place.<\/p>\n
Two-time Tour de France champion Pogacar remains 46 seconds ahead of Britain’s Geraint Thomas in the overall standings.<\/p>\n
After securing his maiden Grand Tour stage win – and Cofidis’ first victory of the season – Benjamin Thomas joked that Wednesday’s Genova to Lucca test had been “like a long, long, long team pursuit”. <\/p>\n
The 28-year-old added: “We did an amazing break and I don’t believe it. <\/p>\n
“It was really hard in the finale, every pull was full gas. Its unbelievable.”<\/p>\n
Paleni of France was fourth and points classification leader Jonathan Milan of Italy guided the peloton home in fifth place. <\/p>\n
Stage six on Thursday takes place across 180km from Torre del Lago Puccini to Rapolano Terme. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n