‘The team were almost happier than me’ – Benjamin Thomas secures Cofidis’ first 2024 win at Giro d’Italia

Breakaway wins on flat stages in the first week of a Grand Tour are becoming increasingly rare in modern cycling, but Benjamin Thomas’ success on stage 5 in the Giro d’Italia not only proved the exception to the rule but also simultaneously netted Cofidis their long-sought first victory of 2024.

With his own most recent victory, a time trial stage in the 4 Days of Dunkirk back in 2023, Thomas said afterwards that even he was having a hard time believing that he had managed to both fend off his three breakaway companions and keep the peloton at bay.