There was no photo this Wednesday in Messina.
In search of success for ten months, Arnaud Démare, the sprinter of Groupama-FdJ was the fastest.
He won, by the way, his first victory this year and thus unlocked his counter.
At 30, the Picard runner has proven that he has lost none of his vista.
Second in the 3rd stage of the Giro in Balatonfüred, during the Grand Départ in Hungary, he won his case this time.
“I'm super happy, he says at the microphone of Eurosport.
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 coming back downhill.
We went down like bullets.
We know what we are capable of the team.
You must keep trying.
»
For Démare, this success also has a special character.
Indeed, he is now the 3rd Frenchman to have won six stages in the Tour of Italy.
He joined a closed circle made up of Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
🔎 @ArnaudDemare joins the multi-win French at the Giro: only Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have won 6 stages at the #Giro pic.twitter.com/H8KIuP094v
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 11, 2022
In a massive sprint, the Picard beat the Colombian Fernando Gaviria (WorldTeam UAE Emirates).
In the general classification, the Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segrafredo) is still in the lead.
Thanks to his victory, Démare regains the lead in the points standings with a 22-point lead over Biniam Girmay, the Eritrean from the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux team.
In Messina, Démare signed the 85th success of his career.
It is also his 8th stage victory in a Grand Tour.
He is the best active Frenchman ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (7), Nacer Bouhanni and Thibaut Pinot (6).