Giro d’Italia stage 6: Arnaud Démare best in sprinter showdown with Cavendish and Ewan

Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) was the fastest of the sprinters on stage 6 of the 2022 Giro d’Italia.

While he was nearly boxed in on the barrier at 200m to go, Démare was able to work his way into contention on Caleb Ewan’s (Lotto-Soudal) wheel.

He took the stage win ahead of the Lotto Soudal rider and Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) in a photo finish with an expertly timed bike throw. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché Wanty Gobert Matériaux) finished just off the podium.

This is Démare’s second consecutive stage win, further padding his lead in the points competition.

“It was really hot, it’s easy to play but today it’s in my favor,” said Démare. “The team did a huge job, I couldn’t have had better.”

Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo) continued in the overall race leader’s jersey, after riding a relatively relaxed pace for 192km, from Palmi to Scalea.

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How it happened

Riding at a relatively relaxed pace, the peloton was some 40 minutes behind the fastest predicted stage time, when the bunch came through the 100km to-go mark.

Diego Rosa (Eolo-Kometa) was the sole man in the break, with nearly a four-minute advantage with about two hours of racing remaining.

This lead was shaved through the following 50km, to just 100 seconds, and then just half a minute over the following 15km.

With tactics at play before the final run-in, Rosa’s advantage was allowed to drift to a minute, with 32km remaining, before this advantage was wiped and he was reeled in at 30km to go.

Lotto-Soudal did its best to control the front for Ewan under the 15km to-go banner, while on the other side of the road Groupama-FDJ was towing Démare into position. While this was happening, Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Fenix squad faltered in the middle of the bunch.

With just 12km remaining, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl brought Cavendish to the front, alongside Ewan, while UAE Team Emirates tried to position Fernando Gaviria to the front just a few kilometers later.

Girmay’s easily identifiable Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux team tried to muscle their way up, but never made it to the front line.

Ewan had locked onto Cavendish’s wheel at 3km to go after he exhausted his Lotto-Soudal leadout train, while on the other side of the road Démare was in position behind his Groupama-FDJ setup.

Groupama opened the final sprint, with Démare in third wheel, but Mørkøv expertly brought Cavendish through chaotic traffic from the red kite though 300m to go.

Gaviria tried to navigate a fading Cees Bol (Team DSM) and nearly brought him down in the final few hundred meters, but both men ultimately remained upright. The Colombian was later relegated by the race jury.

Cavendish was delivered to 150m to go, but faded, and was passed by a fast-charging Ewan with Démare on his wheel.

When Démare came out of Ewan’s slipstream, the Frenchman kicked and with an expertly timed shove, launched his bike through the finish line for his second consecutive stage win.

What’s to come

Stage 7 is another one for the climbers and GC hopefuls. The 196km route from Diamante to Potenza will take riders over 4,450m of climbing, but never exceed 1,410m in vertical elevation. The finish is atop a 350m climb with an average grade of 8 percent.