He holds his first victory of the year. Weaned from success in 2022, Arnaud Démare won the 5th stage of the Tour of Italy this Wednesday. The French rider won the sprint in Messina ahead of the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo.
The Giro suits him well. Very well even. After one success in 2019 and four in 2020, Arnaud Démare raised his arms for the 6th time in the Tour of Italy. Winner of a total of eight stages on a Grand Tour, he became the 3rd Frenchman to compile six stage victories on the other side of the Alps after Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
And this success, he went to get it on the pedal. Second in the 3rd stage in Balatonfüred (Hungary), he was keen to take his revenge to unlock his counter, and that of the French on this Giro. Although he was somewhat left behind on the big climb of the day (Portella Mandrazi), he managed to catch up with the peloton after the descent, unlike his rivals Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan.
And perfectly led by the train of Groupama-FDJ, he settled the massive sprint to sign the 85th victory of his career and seize the lead in the points classification. “It was a difficult day. In the end, the sprint was pretty smooth for me. I was patient to launch it. The climb was difficult. I lost a lot of time. But the guys did a great job getting back downhill, he said on arrival at the Eurosport microphone. We went down like bullets. We know what the team is capable of. You must keep trying.”
The perfect straight line of a six-time Giro stage winner
— Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team (@GroupamaFDJ) May 11, 2022
Arnaud Démare will above all try to do it again, from this Thursday, during the 6th stage, 192 kilometers long, with an arrival in Scalea favorable to the sprinters.