Benjamin Thomas wins Giro stage five after breakaway holds off peloton

French rider Benjamin Thomas outsprinted his breakaway colleagues to win the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, giving the Cofidis team their first victory this year.

The four-man break escaped the peloton after the final intermediate sprint of the day, with 80km left to ride, and held off the chasing pack despite the best efforts of the main sprint contenders' teams.

Italian Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa) looked set to reach the line first after the 178km ride from Genoa to Lucca, but his push for victory inside the last kilometre came too early, and he was caught before the finish.

Pietrobon had to settle for third place, with Denmark's Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) coming in second behind Thomas who wins his first Grand Tour stage.

Tadej Pogacar still holds the overall lead.

Ryan Mullen finished 154th in stage five, over seven minutes behind the peloton, which leaves him 167th overall.