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Watch Démare give a master class in bike throwing to win stage 6 of the Giro

The Frenchman keeps winning in Italy

Photo by: Sirorti
May 13, 2022
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Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) took another impressive victory at stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday, beating Lotto Soudal’s Caleb Ewan by the narrowest of margins. Démare executed an absolutely perfect bike throw to the line as he beat the Australian.. The Frenchman’s win followed his stage 5 triumph in Sicily. Démare didn’t have to contend with Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan in Wednesday’s bunch sprint in Messina,, where he scored his sixth career Giro stage victory.

A bike throw is just one of many tools in a sprinter’s chest. Sharp elbows, fearlessness, grabbing the right wheel–and of course, the explosive power that will launch in the finale. A good bike throw is easy to learn, and a good thing to know for your next race or town sprint sign. It can give you the edge when you’re neck and neck with a competitor. Sprint finishes can be sometimes won by the width of a tire, so the bike throw can very well be the deciding factor in who takes top honours.

To throw your bike, you want to drop your shoulders and straighten your arms explosively. Following that, you need to push your rear off the seat, at the same time pushing the bike forward as far as possible just as you cross the finishing line.
You can see both Démare and Ewan have their rears way off the saddle, and arms locked as they push their bike to the finish. The difference was millimeters, but Démare would take the win.