Demare held firm in the dash to the line; one the Australian was unaccounted for after a mechanical issue at the base of the Portella Mandrazzi proved costly.
“I had to change my wheel at the bottom of the climb of Portella Mandrazzi,” Ewan wrote on Twitter after the stage in Messina.
“It was the worst possible timing. The team did what they could to come back, but it was impossible against all the other teams.”
Teammate Rudiger Selig stayed with Ewan in a bid to get him back to the field, though the pair did not have enough time to make the desired impact.
Ewan still had 100 kilometres to navigate after reaching the top of the category two climb, but he was not the only notable sprinter to struggle; with Mark Cavendish also distanced on the 19.6-kilometre ascent.
The fast pace was part of a plan put in place by Alpecin-Fenix that would see sprinters struggle on the day’s only climb.
Demare, too, was affected by his rivals’ tactics, though he had his Groupama-FDJ teammates to thank after they helped bring him back to the peloton for the bunch sprint.
It wasn’t to be for Ewan, however, who now adds the fifth stage to a tough week that’s seen him crash on the opening day, and finish eighth in the stage-three sprint in Balatonfured.
The Giro d'Italia continues tonight with Stage 6 LIVE via SBS On Demand from 8:25pm (AEST), and later on SBS at 11pm (AEST). WA viewers can watch the race from 9pm (AWST) on SBS VICELAND.
