Arnaud Demare's parents were among the crowd pressed up against the barriers on the finish circuit of stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia in Treviso.

They craned their necks to check the progress of the Giro d'Italia (open in new tab) peloton after the breakaway group passed on the final lap. In the end, the Grupama-FDJ team led by De Mare, along with Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl (open in new tab) were leading the pack, but the gap to the four-man breakaway group was still over a minute with just over 10 km to go.

According to the Chapat theory, a breakaway with a one-minute lead with 10km to go can fend off the peloton, and this was the case for the lead quartet. Dries DeBont (Alpecin Phoenix) held off Edoardo Affini (Jumbo Visma) for the stage win, but DeMare had to settle for sixth place, 14 seconds behind.

"It's a shame because I was aiming for a sprint win," said Demare (open in new tab).

"The break was very strong and very smart. They played us for a long time and resisted us well."

Grupama-FDJ, led by De Mare, once again found strong allies in Mark Cavendish and Quick Step-Alfavinil, who criticized the lack of cooperation from the other sprinter teams before Treviso's local lap.

"I have to thank Quick Step for their cooperation. [It was disappointing that other teams like Bahrain, UAE, and Cofidis didn't run until the last lap. Of course I am disappointed. But I'm relieved that the sprint is over and we can focus on the two remaining mountain stages to Verona."

De Mare's frustration was offset by his commanding lead in the points standings.

With stage wins in Messina, Scalea, and Cuneo, Demare is now about 122 points ahead of Cavendish. If he finishes within the time limit in the mountain stages over the next two days, he is certain to wear the Maria Ciclamino on the podium in Verona on Sunday.

"We can't afford to lose focus until Saturday evening. Right now we just hope we can finish as quickly as possible on Saturday."

In the corresponding stage in 2019, De Mare lost Maria Ciclamino to Pascal Ackermann in the nearby Santa Maria di Sala, but returned to the Giro the following year in a postponed pandemic edition, winning the race against Peter Sagan.

Although he won four stages in that Giro, Demare was pushed to the final week by Sagan. This time, his biggest rival after the midpoint of the Giro is the time limit in the high mountains.

"As for Maria Ciclamino, Peter Sagan two years ago was really the bigger battle," De Mare said.

"On the last day, there was only 10 points between us. But here we are already a week behind."