"I'm just grateful I can still be a cyclist" - After nightmare period Michael Valgren back to his best at Giro d'Italia despite narrowly missing stage win

After a rough couple of years following a broken pelvis, Michael Valgren was back at the front of one of cycling's biggest races on stage 5 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, coming so close to the stage win before having to settle for second from the breakaway.

"It's the Giro right, it means a lot," an emotional Valgren reflects in his post-stage interview. After crashing La Route d'Occitanie in 2022, the Dane was forced into a near-year-long sabbatical from racing whilst he recovered and spent his 2023 riding for EF Education-EasyPost's developmental team.

"A few years back I wasn't sure if I had a contract. The team really helped me through this and I'm happy to be able to pay them back in this way," he continues. "I'm just grateful I can still be a cyclist. So yeah, thanks to everybody."

Coming into the finale as part of a four-man breakaway, Valgren and his companions held around 20 seconds over the peloton. As the games began though, Valgren was ultimately outpowered by Benjamin Thomas in the sprint for the line. "I had to go with a really long sprint and hoped I could do a Magnus Cort Nielsen but I have to learn a bit more," he laughs. "We knew it would be difficult but we worked together and we made it."