MATERA, Italy (Reuters) – French champion Arnaud Demare took his second victory in this year’s Giro d’Italia when he claimed the sixth stage with an impressive last-gasp effort on Thursday.
The Groupama-FDJ rider, who won the fourth stage, stayed hidden in a reduced bunch after a short climb and launched his sprint some 100 metres from the line to win by a big margin.
Australian Michael Matthews was second with Italian Fabio Felline coming home third at the end of a 188-km ride from Castrovillari.
“It was amazing. The climb was really hard and I dropped a few positions down in the bunch but I came back in the short descent,” said Demare.
“I stayed in the wheels, did not brake to move a few positions up and then I gave everything I had in the sprint.”
Portuguese Joao Almeida retained the overall leader’s Maglia Rosa.
(Writing by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
