The French professional cyclist Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) is unbeatable on the flat stages of the 103rd Giro d’Italia. The 29-year-old relegated the three-time world champion Peter Sagan (Slovakia) from the German team Bora-hansgrohe to second place in the mass sprint of the seventh stage after 143 kilometers from Matera to Brindisi and already celebrated his third day win.
With an average speed of 51.234 km / h, it was the fastest stage in Giro history. The previous record came from 2012, when the drivers mastered the stage from San Vito di Cadore to Vedelago at 49.429 km / h.
The German drivers again played no role in the outcome of the stage, Christoph Pfingsten from the Jumbo-Visma team came in 20th as the best German. With his victory, Démare is already 55 points ahead of Sagan in the battle for the purple jersey of the best sprinter. In the overall standings, Portuguese João Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) easily defended the leader’s pink jersey and is still 43 seconds ahead of Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) from Spain.
There could also be another mass sprint on the eighth stage on Saturday over 200 kilometers from Giovinazzo to Vieste. Apart from a mountain classification in the second category, there are no particular challenges waiting for the peloton.
