After eleven days of racing in the Giro d’Italia, Laurence Pithie was finally able to properly sprint on Wednesday. In a chaotic bunch sprint in Francavilla al Mare, the New Zealand rider managed to find his way through and ultimately sprinted to fifth place, which became fourth after Tim Merlier was relegated. The 21-year-old Kiwi therefore took his first top-5 in a Grand Tour and brought the second one for the team in this 2024 Giro. Jonathan Milan claimed victory. On Thursday, a much hillier stage will take the riders to Fano.
With a long, 207 kilometres stage, the Giro d’Italia continued its journey north on Wednesday, while reaching the Adriatic coast in Francavilla al Mare. At mid-race, the peloton was also to get to the seaside, and a quite easy second part of the race was therefore looming. The sprinters were expected on this day, and they were also relieved to see only three riders take the lead right away: Tim Van Dijke, Edoardo Affini and Thomas Champion. “We were hoping for a calm start, and when we saw three men go and that no one followed, we were satisfied,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “If someone would have decided to make it hard, it could have done damage, but the stage was long, and with the profile being really flat in the second part, there was no point in going fast in the first climbs”. The peloton also tried to keep the trio under three minutes. “They didn’t leave them much room because they knew that the three leaders were strong riders, and with the final tailwind, the pace could only be high behind,” explained Frédéric. “It went by quite fast because everyone was very focused on the challenging first part, then once we arrived at the seaside, we had to be careful when crossing towns.” With the tailwind, the riders quickly reached the final of the stage, and the fugitives were caught thirty-five kilometres from the finish.
“It’s motivating”, Laurence Pithie
Some moves happened in the last uphill parts of the course, but everything eventually set up for the bunch sprint and the entire Groupama-FDJ cycling team came back at the front. “Laurence is capable of handling things on his own on the final, but beforehand, we look at the dangerous places where he really needs to be positioned, and that’s where his teammates play a role,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “In particular, we saw that we had to be positioned eight kilometres from the finish today. We therefore used the team as much as possible until the last four kilometres, then Laurence managed the final with Lewis and Cyril.” “The team did a really good job to keep me at the front in the last twenty kilometres, then I was able to find my way,” added Laurence. “One kilometre from the finish, I was a bit far back, but luckily with the headwind I was able to move forward.” The Kiwi snaked in and out, and managed to replace himself in the top ten positions before the sprint really opened. “With the headwind in the final, it was also better not to be in front too early,” added Frédéric. “He managed it very well, despite some fighting for position. We know that there is a high level in sprinting here, and although Rome is not yet around the corner, the sprint stages are not very many anymore. Everyone is taking more and more risks and it’s getting more and more heated.”
Just slightly slowed down on the right of the road, Laurence Pithie eventually managed to find a gap along the barriers in the last hundred metres to make his effort and cross the line in fifth position. After Tim Merlier’s relegation, the New Zealander even got fourth place. “It was the first time I was able to sprint properly today, it’s positive signs and the legs are a lot better, which is good,” he said. “Hopefully we can keep this momentum and keep climbing the leaderboard. This result is motivating, and if we continue to fight like this, there will be more chances for us in the coming days.” “It’s indeed a good day, because it’s true that he hadn’t yet had the opportunity to really show himself,” confirmed Frédéric. “Eventually, the form is there! Tomorrow, we can have our say, and Friday, it will normally be another sprint. So there are two more nice stages for us this week.”
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