Giro d'Italia: Arnaud Démare takes first win of the season in difficult sprint stage

Groupama - FDJ have brought a full leadout for Arnaud Démare to this Giro d'Italia, and today it has been of incredible importance as the Frenchman was brought back to the peloton by the team, and put into perfect position towards the end of the stage where he was the fastest in the final sprint.

The early breakaway consisted of traditional members Mattia Bais and Filippo Tagliani (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocatolli), joined by Mirco Maestri (EOLO-Kometa), Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) and Jaakko Hänninen (AG2R Citröen Team). An ambitious group, but one that was caught very early with 67 kilometers to go.

This was because the pace was ramped up very early on. With the second category Portella Mandrazzi on the route, Alpecin-Fenix and Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux pushed the pace in the climb and descent respectively dropping Mark Cavendish, Caleb Ewan and Arnaud Démare in the process. Whilst the Frenchman managed to regain his position in the peloton, the two previous didn't - as Israel - Premier Tech also consolidated the differences made.

After the chasers gave up, the peloton calmed down, and the pace gently built up towards the end. The finale was very chaotic, with no leadout standing out towards the end. The confusion allowed Arnaud Démare to regain position, brought by a teammate, and when he launched his sprint the Frenchman managed to have the speed to hold off everyone behind.

Fernando Gaviria and Giacomo Nizzolo finished second and third, as the peloton once again managed to arrive without any crash towards the end, safely.