The fifth stage is the first good day for escapes. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) takes the success in Lucca, finishing ahead of Michael Valgren (EF Education-Easypost) and Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti-Kometa), with the group thus losing the opportunity to compete for success in the sprint.
The platoon may have something to blame themselves for, also because since the attempt started from afar, after the Bracco pass, held the quartet of fugitives with an advantage that remained for a long time around the minute mark. It seemed like a situation in which those who tried were practically in a bain-marie, but instead no thought was given to the fact that the finish, starting after Montemagno, was slightly downhill, making the group’s comeback more difficult.
Another wrong strategic factor can come from underestimating the composition of the fleeing group. In the leading quartet there were two riders, Thomas and Valgren, who are not the usual hardworking men attempting a day of glory. The Dane is someone who has won important one-day races such as the 2018 Amstel Gold Race in his career, while the transalpine is one of the best performers of track races. Not taking a bite at the end, the chase was lethal.
And let’s focus on the attitude of the group, which never appeared totally cohesive in the chase to escape. All probably due to the attitude of Kaden Groves’ Alpecin-Deceuninck on the Bracco Pass: a climb done at breakneck speed with the aim of skimming the group and putting the sprinters in difficulty. And some teams actually lost vital men to be able to finish the chase late on. Lidl-Trek also found itself alone for some stretches, especially after Montemagno, and Jonathan Milan himself wasn’t happy about it. “Look at the images” he said to Rai after the stage. With a pinch of controversy, which will have to be resolved in view of the next stages.
