Giro d' Italia 2014

['Dale]

116km remaining from 172km

 

The group of escapees have a gap of 1:16 on the peloton. The riders who have made it into the group are Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale), Enrico Barbin (Bardiani CSF), Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocatolli), Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocatolli), David Tanner (Belkin), Oscar Gatto (Cannondale), Leonardo Duque (Colombia), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Jonathan Monsalve (Neri Sottoli), Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto-Belisol), Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky), Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) and Davide Malacarne (Europcar).

['Dale]

110km remaining from 172km

 

The gap has ballooned out to 4:23, it looks like this will be our break for the day.

 

['Dale]

 

Both Julien Berard and Marco Bandiera were in yesterday's breakaway attempt. The teams not represented in that group are obviously those of the main GC contenders, who have other things to think about today.

 

[cruzr]

#SS7

['Dale]

96km remaining from 172km

 

After 76 kilometres of racing the gap back to the peloton is 5:30.

['Dale]

The average speed of the first hour of racing was a very quick 47kph, which is why the break took so long to form today.

['Dale]

Davide Malacarne is the best placed rider in the breakaway. He began the day 9:27 down on Cadel Evans this morning.

['Dale]

Tinkoff-Saxo confirm that Christopher Juul-Jensen was one of the riders to come down in that crash earlier on. It's been a tough debut Giro d'Italia for the Danish rider, who has also been suffering with illness this week.

['Dale]

There are two riders in this lead group who have won stages of the Giro d'Italia before. Weening obviously won the opening team time trial in Belfast with his Orica-GreenEdge team. However, he also won a stage in the 2011 Giro d'Italia. Salvatore Puccio won the team time trial with Team Skylast season. Both have worn the maglia rosa two, Weening wore it for two days with Puccio wearing it for just one.

['Dale]

 

It seems like former maglia rosa Michael Matthews was involved in that big pile-up earlier on. Images show him missing a large chunk of his shorts and a bit of skin too.

['Dale]

87km remaining from 172km

 

The escapees now have a gap of six minutes on the peloton.

['Dale]

If the breakaway do manage to make it to the finish the favoured rider will be Jonathan Monsalve, the Venezuelan recently won the mountains classification at the Giro del Trentino.

['Dale]

The leaders have now passed the halfway point in the stage, as we approach the feed zone in Crespellano.

['Dale]

5:50 ahead

 

76 kms to go

['Dale]

74km remaining from 172km

 

As the peloton now make their way through the feed zone, lead by BMC's Daniel Oss, the gap has extended to 7:14.

['Dale]

The riders will hit the first climb of the day Sant'Antonio in around 9 kilometers. The intermediate sprint comes just after they crest the climb.