"I'm very happy" - Arnaud Démare on first win of the season

Arnaud Démare's first win of the season took time, but the 30-year old landed a big one as his debut triumph of 2022 as he conquered today's stage of the Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion.

"Obviously I'm very happy, yes. I'm very happy. The victory was delayed, but that's cycling," Démare told in a post-race interview. The Frenchman is one of the most successful sprinters of this generation, however he had not won a bunch sprint since last year's La Route d'Occitanie. 

With the team's climbers focusing on the Tour de France, the team gave Démare the liberty to have his full leadout present at the Giro where he had won five stages in the past. Today, he turned it into six, as Groupama-FDJ raced collectively well. The sprinter was dropped in the ascent to Portella Mandrazzi after Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish, however the small gaps allowed the team to ride back into the pack.

"It was a difficult day. The climb was difficult, but my teammates brought me back on the descent so well. It went very, very fast," he added. The sprint itself looked chaotic, however with the lack of the main leadouts Ramon Sinkeldam managed to pierce through and launch Démare into his first win of the season in Messina.

“The sprint went well for me. The team worked well for me and I was patient, I waited for the right moment to launch my sprint," he concluded. Tomorrow will be a new opportunity, however without the pressure, Groupama may find a way to make more wins flow throughout the race - with Démare now also in the lead of the points classification.