Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia brought a return to the sprinter-friendly parcours of the Adriatic coast as the peloton surfed toward the seaside town of Rimini. With three stages already under his bib straps prior to Monday’s rest day, Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) proved unstoppable yet again to claim a fantabulous fourth stage. Peter Sagan (BORA-hansgrohe) continued his streak of good form to claim second on the stage with Deceuninck Quickstep’s Alvaro Hodeg settling for third. Fellow Quickstepper and race leader Jaoa Almeida protected his maglia rosa prior to Thursday’s hilly stage.

How the stage was won

Bossing the sprint field once again, Demare benefitted from a textbook lead out from Jacopo Guarnieri and powered away from all others.

Today’s victory brings his grand tour stage win count to seven, having previously won a stage of Il Giro in 2019 and two stages of Le Tour de France in previous years.

It’s extremely hard not to love Groupama-FDJ. Whether it be their enthusiastic tweeting, Marc Madiot’s passion, or the way the team rallies behind our beloved Thibaut when he Pinots. . .  there is something special about FDJ. They are a team of love and compassion. The emotions shared are genuine to such a level that it warms my heart even in the cold Midwestern winters.

In his post-race interview, Arnaud praised his teammates and gave nod to the stunning performance he’s had at this year’s race.

We had to do well getting through all the tight turns in the town but of course before the finish, everybody did a great job. Jacopo Guarnieri was fantastic. There he was for 400 metres and I was waiting. Then, in the end, I launched the sprint and I knew that people were trying to get around but I was strongest for the line.

It feels amazing. Of course, I didn’t think I could get four stages here. I was looking for a stage win and I’m so happy. I really want to congratulate the whole team because it’s their victory as well. They believed in me, everyone has worked really hard and the work is paying off.

The Motos Strike. . .Again

Whilst one French team has had a smoking run at this race, another continues to struggle. After a difficult Tour, Cofidis’ Elia Viviani is at the Giro hunting stages. He has been off the mark thus far, and today was hampered by a race moto.

Cofidis gave chase and were eventually able to place Elia back in the peloton, but the effort expended was too much in the end.

An interesting take from one a former Grand Tour winner on the blame of moto crashes.

Much like FDJ, however, Cofidis are fighters are will have lived to fight another day.

The Final Word(s)

Stage 11 Results

1 Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 4:03:52

2 Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time

3 Alvaro Jose Hodeg Chagui (Deceuninck-Quickstep) s/t

4 Simone Consonni (Cofidis) s/t

5 Rick Zabel (Israel Start-Up Nation) s/t

GC Top 10

1 Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 43:41:57

2 Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) +0:34

3 Pello Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren) +0:43

4 Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT Pro Cycling) +0:57

5 Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) +1:01

6 Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) +1:15

7 Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) +1:19

8 Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1:21

9 Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +1:36

10 Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain McLaren) +1:52

All the jerseys

Leader’s jersey Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep)

Points jersey Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ)

King of the Mountains Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling)

Best Young Rider Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep)

For full race reviews, go to cyclingnews

Official race website: Giro d’Italia 

Header Image:  FABIO FERRARI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images