Demare pips Ewan for second consecutive Giro stage win

Team Groupama-FDJ’s French rider Arnaud Demare (left) crosses the finish line to win ahead of Team Lotto’s Australian rider Caleb Ewan (centre) the 6th stage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 cycling race, 192 kilometres between Palmi and Scalea, Calabria, yesterday. (AFP)

French rider Arnaud Demare claimed his second win in two days with a thrilling sprint finish for stage six of the Giro d’Italia yesterday. Demare, riding for Groupama-FDJ, pipped Australian Caleb Ewan in a photo finish on the line after the 192km ride from Palmi to Scalea in the southern Calabria region. Demare, 30, claimed his seventh stage win, becoming the most successful French rider in the race around Italy ahead of legends Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, who have six each. “It was very tight. I had the feeling that I had won but it was hot so I waited for the photo-finish,” said Demare. Briton Mark Cavendish, winner last Sunday in Hungary, finished third. “A win is sometimes decided by very little,” continued Demare. “It’s in my favour today. The team has done a tremendous job. I only had 100 metres to overhaul Cavendish.  I threw my bike on the line and it made the difference. Many people underestimate me but it’s my 86th victory today, my seventh at the Giro d’Italia. It counts. It’s wonderful. “It was a really calm stage and everybody had fresh legs,” Démare said afterwards. “Yesterday it was a collective job and today we had everyone as well. At each roundabout we were perfectly placed. “At around 500 metres, Jacopo did a great job and I got myself into the wheels. The sprint lasted about 100 metres and I managed to get there. I thought maybe it was me that was second until we saw the photo. I felt I needed to find a way out – I couldn’t go left, so I had to go right and had to go further around to the right because Ewan was there. I needed to get to the front and not make the mistake that Ewan made on the first day. “It was right on the line. I felt like I was in front but you never know. I’m really happy. We knew it was going to be really close. I threw the bike and that was the difference.” Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez holds the leader’s pink jersey which the Trek rider grabbed yesterday on Mount Etna. “It was all under the control of the sprinters’ teams,” said the Spaniard. “It will be very different tomorrow but we’re ready with the team to defend the Maglia Rosa.” Today’s seventh stage is a gruelling 196km ride between Diamante and Potenza including four climbs between the Calabrian coast inland to Basilicata with a summit finish.Results and standings STAGE 1. Arnaud Démare (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) 5hr 02min 33sec (average: 38.076 km/h), 2. Caleb Ewan (AUS/LOT) same time, 3. Mark Cavendish (GBR/QST) s.t, 4. Biniam Girmay (ERY/INT) s.t., 5. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA/ISR) s.t., 6. Phil Bauhaus (GER/BAH) s.t., 7. Andrea Vendrame (ITA/AG2) s.t., 8. Simone Consonni (ITA/COF) s.t., 9. Vincenzo Albanese (ITA/EOK) s.t., 10. Edward Theuns (BEL/TRE) s.t., 11. Sacha Modolo (ITA/BAR) s.t., 12. Rick Zabel (GER/ISR) s.t., 13. Davide Gabburo (ITA/BAR) s.t., 14. Edoardo Affini (ITA/JUM) s.t., 15. Filippo Tagliani (ITA/DRO) s.t.Selected26. Joao Almeida (POR/UAE) s.t., 27. Wilco Kelderman (NED/BOR) s.t., 37. Tom Dumoulin (NED/JUM) s.t., 38. Richard Carapaz (ECU/INE) s.t., 39. Jai Hindley (AUS/BOR) s.t., 43. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/AST) s.t., 58. Simon Yates (GBR/BIK) s.t., 62. Mikel Landa (ESP/BAH) s.t., 66. Romain Bardet (FRA/DSM) s.t., 69. Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/TRE) s.t., 114. A Valverde (ESP/MOV) s.t.Overall standings 1. Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/Trek) 23hr 23min 36sec, 2. Lennard Kämna (GER/BOR) at 38sec, 3. Rein Taaramae (EST/INT) 58, 4. Simon Yates (GBR/BIK) 1:42, 5. Mauri Vansevenant (BEL/QST) 1:47, 6. Wilco Kelderman (NED/BOR) 1:55, 7. Joao Almeida (POR/UAE) 1:58, 8. Pello Bilbao (ESP/BAH) 2:00, 9. Richie Porte (AUS/INE) 2:04, 10. Romain Bardet (FRA/DSM) 2:06, 11. Richard Carapaz (ECU/INE) 2:06, 12. Mikel Landa (ESP/BAH) 2:15, 13. Thymen Arensman (NED/DSM) 2:15, 14. Jai Hindley (AUS/BOR) 2:16, 15. Santiago Buitrago (COL/BAH) 2:18, 16. Hugh Carthy (GBR/EF1) 2:20, 17. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 2:23.