The China Mail - Frenchman Demare grabs third Giro d'Italia sprint win

Demare beat Phil Bauhaus and Mark Cavendish to the line while Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez held on to the leader's pink jersey for a 10th stage.

On a short 150km run, only half the distance of the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, four riders opened a six-minute gap they only let slip in the final kilometre, setting up the sprint.

This was Demare's third stage win on this year's Giro and it extends his lead in the sprint points race.

"It was a monstrous lead-out," said the winner.

"They really resisted at the front," he said.

After showing strong form at the Giro, French climber Romain Bardet pulled out on Friday complaining of feeling sick.

The 31-year-old DSM man was fourth place in the standings heading into the mountainous final week of the 21-day race where he would likely have thrived.

Along with Ineos leader Richard Carapaz and Bahrain Victorious' Mikel Landa, Bardet was a credible pretender to win this Giro.

Saturday's treacherous hilly stage should shake up the standings, while Sunday's mountain climb is a slog to a summit finish at over 1500m at Cogne in the Aosta Valley north of Turin.

C.Smith--ThChM