Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) won the fifth stage of the 2022 road cycling's Giro d'Italia in Messina on Wednesday (11 May) as Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) retained the GC leader's pink jersey.
As expected the race came down to a bunch sprint: with favourites Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan out of contention after being dropped on a climb, the Frenchman took his first victory this season as he edged out Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), with Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) in third.
"I'm really, really happy," the 2016 Milan-San Remo winner said after the race.
"It was a difficult day, but it's been a brilliant sprint for me. We know that we are capable of winning and of course it's not easy to put things in place, but we persevered and we achieved it."
Demare now tops the points classification and tomorrow will wear the cyclamen jersey.
Thursday's 192km-long sixth stage from Palmi to Scalea sees the peloton move on the Italian mainland and will likely provide sprinters with another win opportunity.
Nibali announces retirement
In his home town Messina, two-time Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the season.
"I was waiting for this stage for a while, for years, it’s where I started to ride and train, so I wanted to confirm here that this is my last Giro and my last season," Nibali said with tears in his eyes.
"It’s time to call it a day. I’ve done so much for so long but it’s the right time."
Giro d'Italia: Stage 5 Results - Wednesday 11 May
- Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 4:03:56
- Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) 0:00
- Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:00
- Davide Ballerini (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) +0:00
- Binima Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert-Materiaux) +0:00
Giro d'Italia: General Classification standings after stage 5
- Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 18:21:03
- Lennard Kamna (Bora-hansgrohe) +0:39
- Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert-Materiaux) +0:58
- Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) +1:42
- Mauri Vansevenant (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) +1:47
Giro d'Italia race schedule in 2022
The 2022 Giro began on Friday 6th May 2022, and will conclude on 29th May.
6 May: Stage 1 - Budapest-Visegrad (195 km) - Won by Mathieu van der Poel, who claims overall lead.
7 May: Budapest-Budapest (Time trial, 9.2km) - Won by Simon Yates. Mathieu van der Poel remains overall leader.
8 May: Kaposvar-Belatonfured (201 km) - Won by Mark Cavendish. Mathieu van der Poel remains overall leader.
9 May: Rest day
10 May: Avola-Etna (166 km) - Won by Lennard Kamna, Juan Pedro Lopez claims overall lead.
11 May: Catania-Messina (172 km) - Won by Arnaud Demare, Juan Pedro Lopez remains overall leader.
12 May: Palmi-Scalea (192 km)
13 May: Diamante-Potenza (198 km)
14 May: Napoli-Napoli (149 km)
15 May: Isernia-Blockhaus (187 km)
16 May: rest day
17 May: Pescara-Jesi (194 km)
18 May: Santarcangelo di Romagna-Reggio Emilia (201 km)
19 May: Parma-Genova (186 km)
20 May: Sanremo-Cuneo (157 km)
21 May: Santena-Torino (153 km)
22 May: Rivarolo Canavese-Cogne (177 km)
23 May: rest day
24 May: Salo-Aprica (193 km)
25 May: Ponte di Legno-Lavarone (165 km)
26 May: Borgo Valsugana-Treviso (146 km)
27 May: Marano Lagunare-Santuario di Castelmonte (178 km)
28 May: Belluno-Marmolada (Passo Fedala)
29 May: Verona-Verona (Time trial, 17.1km)
How to watch Giro d'Italia 2022
Every stage of the race is filmed and made available for live TV coverage and streaming via local broadcast partners in different regions.
In Europe, this is via Eurosport and Discovery+, with RAI Sport in Italy showing the coverage for viewers in the host nation. GCN+ in USA/Canada, SBS TV in Australia, and BeIN Sports are other major broadcasters offering television and livestream coverage.
Full details of broadcasting and race updates are also on the official giroditalia.it website.