Démare narrowly beats Sagan as Thomas withdraws from Giro

VILLAFRANCA TIRRENA, Sicily (AP) — French rider Arnaud Démare won the first mass sprint of this year’s Giro d’Italia in a three-way photo finish. Portuguese rider João Almeida added a couple of seconds to his overall lead in the fourth stage. Démare finished just ahead of Peter Sagan and Davide Ballerini. Geraint Thomas withdrew from the race before the stage after fracturing his pelvis in a fall on Monday. It was Démare’s second career win at the Giro. Sagan also finished second in Stage 2. The three-time world champion is competing in his first Giro.