Giro d’Italia 2020 Stage 9 - As it happened
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Updated 13/10/2020 at 06:21 GMT
Giro d'Italia 2020 - The final chapter before the first rest day saw Portugual's Joao Almedia take the win ahead of Jonathan Castroviejo as compatriot Joao Almeida retained the pink jersey after a sodden Stage 9.
Joao Almeida (Deceuninck Quick-Step) in the pink jersey in stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
Here's how Guerreiro broke Castroviejo's heart
The oldest trick in the book there from the Portuguese who sandbagged his rival until the final 100m to take the biggest win of his career.
Lead down to 30 seconds
Joao Almeida's lead is down to 30 seconds in the battle for pink - and his nearest challenger is now the Dutchman Wilco Kelderman. Pello Bilbao made in-roads on Almeida but finished behind Kelderman, so he drops to third place but is now 39 seconds down. Italians Pozzovivo and Nibali complete the top 5 and are both within one minute of the summit.
History for Portugal
Ruben Guerreiro delivered a first Giro stage win for Portugal in 31 years there - made even better by Almeida breaking the record for the number of days in pink for a Portuguese rider: six.
Here's today's top 10 with a good day for Wilco Kelderman and Jakob Fuglsang from the race favourites behind.
Almeida retains the pink jersey
From one Portuguese to another, and Joao Almeida will keep the maglia rosa for the first rest day. He lost a bit of time there as the pack fragmented on the final kilometre - Nibali also dropped back a little despite all that work from Trek.
It's a very confusing finish with riders coming home in drips and drabs as the rain continues to pour. It'll take a bit of time to see who did what and when, how and why...
Victory for Ruben Guerreiro!
Guerreiro sticks on Castroviejo's wheel all the way up the final rise until the final ramp where he dances clear with authority to pick his rival's pocket and take the win! What a win for the 26-year-old Portuguese... and another second place for Ineos...
Final kilometre: Ineos or EF?
Jonathan Castroviejo puts in a dig as the leading duo pass under the flamme rouge. He can't drop Ruben Guerreiro and the two join forces again. There's a 12% ramp to the line which will decide this race.
2km to go: The final grind
The chasing trio failed to make any in-roads on the slight downhill section ahead of the final rise. That means that our two leaders have 30 seconds to play with going onto this decisive part of the climb. It's EF Pro Cycling vs Ineos Grenadiers. Who will come out on top?
4km to go: Wet wet wet
It's like Four Weddings And A Funeral all over again as the rain pounds down on the Giro. Castroviejo and Guerreiro have 15 seconds on Warbasse, Frankiny and Bjerg. Further back, Geoghegan Hart and Hamilton have 20 seconds on the pack, which is down to around 30 riders.
6km to go: Castroviejo attacks!
With teammate Geoghegan Hart on the move behind, the Spaniard rides clear with Guerreiro on the front of the race. The duo open up a gap over the other escapees. Neither Castroviejo nor Guerreiro have ever won a Grand Tour stage before.
Behind, it's Gianluca Brambilla of Trek and Fabio Felline of Astana who ride clear - laying down markers for their teammates Nibali and Fuglsang.
6.5km to go: Warbasse has a dig
The first move comes from the American who ups the tempo to force a reaction from his fellow escapees. Behind, Antonio Nibali is driving the pace as Mitchelton-Scott's Lucas Hamilton makes the first move with Tao Geoghegan Hart in pursuit. Antonio Pedrero, too.
8km to go: Favourites on the climb
Nibali is stripped and ready for action - which is telling, for Almeida is still in his rain jacket and doesn't look too excited about the prospect of racing up to Roccaraso. It's still a large main pack of around 55 riders here and it's Trek on the front. The five leaders have 3'15" with Sepulveda still somewhere in between.
9km to go: Sunweb en masse
Kelderman's team have gathered on the front after an interesting phase saw Pozzovivo lose contact and the pink jersey Almeida fall back. Both riders are in the mix again, but they're clearly not enjoying this grim weather. It's about to get a whole lot messier.
10km to go: Cats and dogs
It's really pouring down now as the leaders continue the uphill grind to the foot of the final climb. The ascent to Roccaraso is 9.6km long at 5.7%. A downhill segment in the middle skewers the average gradient with the road really ramping up towards the finish.
13km to go: Bahrain-McLaren on the front
Pello Bilbao has a teammates on the front now - it's Hermann Pernsteiner. The Spaniard rode the Tour de France but is showing some good form here. He's second on GC and may look to put some pressure on Almeida on the final climb. The break is still four minutes clear - one of them will win. Manuele Boaro, meanwhile, needs a wheel change for Astana.
18km to go: Looking good for the break
With a temporary ceasefire in the main pack, the breakaway's chances has really gone up. They have 3'50" to play with which should be enough provided they don't start bickering too soon. Of course, it all depends on how much it blows up behind - but even with some big attacks from the GC favourites, the leaders should survive.
20km to go: Five ahead
It looks like Frankiny has been dropped from the leading group so it's now Castroviejo, Guerreiro, Bjerg and Warbasse out ahead. They have 3'40" over the pack which is being led again by Quick-Step after Trek knocked it off. Bahrain-McLaren are back in formation for their man Pello Bilbao, who is second on GC at 43 seconds.
Ah, Frankiny is back. The Swiss must have just been paying a visit to his Groupama-FDJ team car. So it's five not four.
27km to go: Guerreiro takes KOM points
Another 18 points for the Portuguese who goes over the summit in pole position. The EF rider is up to 44 points so he's now in second place behind Visconti in the blue jersey standings. Visconti didn't add any points over that third climb but he will still be in blue tonight provided he finishes the stage.
28km to go: Terrific from Trek
Mosca and Conti have peeled off after big shifts, Brambilla has not been at the races after his crash yesterday, but Trek-Segafredo have really strung things out so we can expect an attack from the Shark soon, surely.
Nibali has hit brother Antonio and the local rider Giulio Ciccone in front of him still. They're doing damage but they are burning matches. Sunweb, on the other hand, have power in numbers for Wilco Kelderman behind. All the big favourites are still in the mix. The question is whether it will kick off here or on the final climb...
32km to go: Peloton explodes
There are only around 50 riders left in the peloton now as the pace increases. It's Trek-Segafredo doing the damage now, with Nibali's team taking over the reins from Quick-Step to dish out the hurt. On the front, Guerriero has joined the other four, but Visconti hasn't been able to respond to the accelerations, Sepulveda neither. O'Connor is even further back - he was first to implode.
35km to go: Bjerg attacks
Going onto the Cat.2 Bosco di Sant-Antonio and the first move comes from that man Mikkel Bjerg who dances clear of the break on this uphill grind. He's chased down by another time trial specialist, Jonathan Castroviejo. They're soon joined by Warbasse and Frankiny, but veteran Visconti seems to be in a bit of trouble...
Gent-Wevelgem klaxon!
Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia is not the only bike race today. Also playing out in ghastly weather is both the men's and women's Gent-Wevelgem - a race renowned for its wind, rain and general grime (whether it's being held in March or, as is the case this year, October).
Our man Tom Owen is handling the live coverage for these races - so check the Van Aert vs Van der Poel show below... I head John Degenkolb is riding very well, too.
It looks like the conditions are pretty brutal in Belgium...
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‘Death ridge’ and vicious crosswinds combine at Gent-Wevelgem
And Pascal Ackermann isn't getting the rub of the green either...
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‘I think that will be race over for him’ – Ackermann in trouble at Gent-Wevelgem
42km to go: Bjerg almost in the bushes
Mikkel Bjerg overcooks a bend there and rides into the grass verge, narrowly avoiding going down in a ditch. Great bike-handling from the Dane after he badly judged that bend. He was the last man to join the break after closing a five-minute gap on both sides of the first climb of the day.
45km to go: Ballerini putting in a shift
The peloton is still being led by the Italian Davide Ballerini, who is one of the only riders eschewing arm warmers or a rain cape. His pace setting has seen the advantage come down to four minutes for the eight leaders. They're now onto a little leg-stretcher ahead of the next climb.
50km to go: Gap comes down
The usual battle to get on the front ahead of the descent means the pace increases in the pack bringing the advantage of the eight leaders down to 4'40". The descent comes in several steps and doesn't drop down too far before the next, penultimate, climb.
54km to go: Visconti first over the top
Giovanni Visconti's bid for blue continues with the Italian veteran taking maximum points over the Passo San Leonardo. That puts him up to 76 KOM points so he's well clear of the current maglia azzurra, Filippo Ganna, who is on 41 points. Ruben Guerreiro was second over the top so he moves up to 26 points, provisional fourth place in the standings.
55km to go: Grimace or smile?
It's hard to read Larry Warbasse's expression: he's either loving these conditions or hating them. The American seems to be in perpetual state of grima-laugh. The for Warbasse and his seven breakaway chums is down to 5'45" as the approach the summit of this second categorised climb. Expect Visconti to dart clear for the points soon...
58km to go: Demare off the back
He's won three stages so far but today's parcours is not one for the French champion. He's succeeded in adding a point to his lead over Pater Sagan in the maglia ciclamino battle today - and now it's a question of getting to the finish intact and without any drama.
Quick-Step's tempo setting has seen the gap creep back down to six minutes but we're still waiting for this one to kick off, really. Jury is still out whether or not one of these eight men out ahead will make it to the finish before the GC battle erupts and sweeps them up.
If they do make it then the likes of Castroviejo, Warbasse and Visconti must be the favourites... although what do I know - yesterday I ruled out Alex Dowsett's chances and how wrong that proved.
62km to go: Sagan off the back
Peter Sagan has either been dropped or he's gone back to visit his team car. Probably the latter because the pace isn't exactly high in the bunch and the Slovakian has now returned to the back of the pack. It's Quick-Step's Davide Ballerini who is tapping out tempo on the front for his teammate Almeida, who is currently out of the virtual race lead by one second as the break's gap is back up to 6'50".
The weather is really grim, it has to be said.
67km to go: Passo San Leonardo
The eight leaders are onto the next categorised climb, the Cat.2 Passo San Leonardo (13.8km at 4.5%). It has a steep ramp of 11% early on but that aside it's a rather gentle ascent up to the summit at 1,282m. The gap is still six minutes.
70km to go: Visconti to make history (ish)
If Gio Visconti wins today he will be the second oldest stage winner in the Giro's history. He's 37 at the moment and his last stage wins in the Giro came in 2013. Still a long way to go, mind.
75km to go: Calm before the storm
Quite literally, for we hear that there is rain and stormy weather forecast for the finish. This stage is a bonus stage in that it wasn't originally scheduled to feature in the initial race, but was added after the Hungarian grande partenza was scrapped following the fall-out from coronavirus.
Talking of rain, it's pouring down again. The gap is 6'20" and Jakob Fuglsang just dropped back to speak to his Astana team car. Surprise Nibali didn't attack then...
84km to go: Up, up, up...
The road is going uphill now and will continue to do so, pretty much, for the next 40 kilometres. There's a slight downhill run ahead of the next categorised climb, but for now the break are on a gentle grind as their gap stretches back out to six minutes.
89km to go: Ice man Bjerg
Bravo, Mikkel Bjerg: when the Dane set from the peloton he was five minutes down on the break; he's ridden the whole of the Passo Lanciano on his own - both sides - and has now finally managed to join the leaders. So we have eight ahead with UAE-Team Emirates now represented in the break.
Behind, the peloton has split into numerous groups but it looks like it will get back together. The main pack is 5'45" down on the leaders with riders from Trek, Deceuninck and Jumbo-Visma having forced the split on the descent.
But as they hit the feed zone and pick up musettes we can expect the advantage to grow for the leaders.
92km to go: Kochetkov abandons
We're hearing that Russia's Pavel Kochetkov (CCC Team) has withdrawn from the race. No reason as yet but he was dropped by the pack on that last climb.
Back in the break, the riders have reached the bottom of the descent with a gap of 6'05". Visconti has just taken off his jacket and given it to the neutral service car. The Italian veteran means business. Although he's not the favourite for the win according to this man in the know...
102km to go: Bjerg almost there
Mikkel Bjerg is only 35 seconds off the break now so the Dane could well do it after his sustained attempt to bridge over. The peloton are now jostling for positions as they approach the summit, with Trek-Segafredo doing what they usually do and trying to push things the tempo. The gap is down to 6'30" and so Castroviejo is, for now, out of the virtual pink jersey.
107km to go: Visconti in virtual blue!
As expected, the Italian kicks clear to take the maximum 40pts going over the summit of the Passo Lanciano. Guerreiro was second and Castroviejo, doing his best to protect teammate Ganna, third. But that puts Visconti onto 58pts - which is 17pts clear of the current maglia azzurra.
108km to go: Castroviejo in virtual pink!
As the gap grows above the seven-minute mark, we have the prospect of a new man in pink today... at least, for now, virtually. The summit is coming up and Gio Visconti will be motivated. He's on 18 KOM points with the leader, Filippo Ganna, on 41 points.
It's still rainign but only a mild drizzle for now. But it's not warm and many riders have arm warmers and jackets on.
112km to go: Castroviejo best placed
Spain's Jonathan Castroviejo, who has already ridden the majority of the Tour de France with Ineos Grenadiers prior to this Giro, is the best-placed rider on GC in this move. He was 6'49" down on Joao Almeida of Deceuninck Quick-Step this morning, so with the gap now up to 6'20", he's just 30 seconds away from being the virtual maglia rosa.
The American Warbasse is 7'38" down on GC and Guerreiro 18'32" in arrears. The rest are well down and so not really a factor. That man Bjerg has cut the deficit to 2'15" but he's still on a hiding to nothing on this climb.
115km to go: Seven with six
As expected, Frankiny has joined the leaders. So, ladies and gents, these are your seven leaders: Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling), Eduardo Sepulveda (Movistar), Ben O'Connor (NTT), Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers), Larry Warbasse (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu-KTM) and Killian Frankiny (Groupama-FDJ).
They now have over six minutes on the peloton. One rider, the Dane Mikkel Bjerg (UAE-Team Emirates) is so much in no-man's-land he might as well be riding Gent-Wevelgem out there. He's three minutes down and so slam-bang in the middle.
118km to go: Six ahead
Those two chasers have bridged over to the other four so we now have six out ahead. Switzerland's Killian Frankiny (Groupama-FDJ) will soon make it seven because he's riding between the leaders and the peloton, closing in slowly but surely.
120km to go: Passo Lanciano
We're onto the Cat.1 Passo Lanciano (12.4km at 7%). It's only been used once in the Giro before, back in 2006 when Ivan Basso went over the top first. Our four leaders have 30 seconds on two chasers - Larry Warbasse (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu-KTM). The peloton is about two minutes behind.
Demare extends lead
So we finally have confirmation of the results of the intermediate sprint at Guardiagrele. That Haig quartet were swept up before it but the latest leading foursome passed through with a 20-second gap. It was Gurerreiro who took the maximum 12pts ahead of O'Conner, Castroviejo and Sepulveda.
But this is all unimportant guff. When the pack came through, it was Frenchman Arnaud Demare who beat Slovakia's Peter Sagan so they take 4pts and 3pts each. That means Demare extends his lead in the maglia ciclamino standings by another point. 57 points now separates the two.
135km to go: And four more
The Haig move came to nothing - although they may have ridden through the intermediate sprint out ahead, it's hard to tell (live TV images have yet to start and online resources are scarce).
The latest move sees Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling), Eduardo Sepulveda (Movistar), Ben O'Connor (NTT) and Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) open up a small piece of daylight between them and the peloton...
140km to go: Four new leaders
That trio may have been old hands when it comes to sniffing out the moves in this race, but theirs came to nothing on this uncategorised rise towards the intermediate sprint. We now have another four riders with a 15-second gap on the pack: Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott), Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Movistar duo Sergio Samitier and Davide Villella.
Spaniard Samitier is only 2'12" down on Almeida on GC so I'd be very surprised to see Deceuninck Quick-Step allow this quartet to get much leeway.
145km to go: Three go clear
Finally we have some movement. Simon Pellaud (Androni-Giocattoli), Josef Cerny (CCC Team) and Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) have opened up a small gap. They're all familiar faces: Britain's Holmes was in the break yesterday and finished third, while Switzerland's Pellaud and Poland's Cerny have been involved in at least two or three moves each since this Giro started. Holmes, too, was in a break in the opening road stage.
In short: these guys know what they're doing.
165km to go: Still no break
Back on the road and we have yet to see any significant movement as the peloton makes its way as one towards the first categorised climb of the day. Before that, the road rises to the first intermediate sprint. I think that's where a break will eventually form.
Nibali and Fuglsang beef?
Vincenzo Nibali and Trek-Segafredo caused a bit of tension yesterday after appearing to up the tempo when Astana's Jakob Fuglsang was off the back with a mechanical. They eventually sat up to let the Dane back on with a number of his teammates, but only after quite a frantic chase on the descent from the climb.
Fuglsang wasn't impressed by Trek's antics. In fact, he wrote in a column published today on a Danish website: "When I punctured on the descent, Trek sat in front and led. It was a strange lead by Trek. There is an unwritten rule: one does not sit up to lead when another has a defect. It is not okay to try to profit from it."
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Nibali and Fuglsang during stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
It's opened up Pandora's Box. Everyone has their views on the so-called unwritten rules - and it's perhaps worth adding that Nibali and Trek had already increased the tempo before the summit. Should they have eased up on hearing that one of Nibali's rivals had had a puncture some five minutes later? It's impossible to say.
In any case, it clearly hit a nerve with Fuglsang...
I chatted with [Larry] Warbasse, he told me that he wouldn't be a Trek friend if he rode for Astana. [Rohan] Dennis also thought it was strange that Trek had to drive so fast on the descent. As I cycled past him [Nibali], I told him he had better watch out the next time he stopped to pee.
Fuglsang added: "Trek recovered one and a half to two minutes on the descent. They clearly went full gas on the way down. Once the Giro is over, Astana and Trek are probably not best friends. But it's part of the game. The press started writing about my relationship with Nibali: I've no problems with him, he has shown a little more with me. But we are also both fighting to win one of the world's biggest bike races."
It's worth adding that the two both rode together at Astana for a period when the Dane was a domestique for the Italian...
180km to go: It's started to rain
Yesterday's stage through the picture-postcard Gargano Peninsula national park was played out under a cloudless blue sky. Today, it's an entirely different matter. We have left behind the sunshine of Puglia and entered the stormy Abruzzo region where we have a grim forecast expected for the finish. In fact, it's already started to rain on the riders...
No break has managed to stick so far.
Ineos Gannadiers
It's worth mentioning that Ganna's Ineos team lead the prize-money table at the moment having won two stages, held the blue jersey for hald a week and placed Salvatore Puccio in two breaks. The British team have currently pulled in €45,787 with the Deceuninck Quick-Step team of maglia rosa Joao Almeida on €41,583 and the Groupama-FDJ team of hat-trick hero Arnaud Demare on €39,007.
The worst? Movistar have only recouped €828 for their coffers...
200km to go: Ganna on the go
Double stage winner Filippo Ganna is very perky this morning and has been on the pointy end of the race trying to be a part of any break that forms. The Italian, who won the opening time trial before showing his climbing prowess with victory in Stage 4 the day his Ineos Grenadier leader Geraint Thomas had to withdraw from the race, holds a slender one-point lead over Etna victor Jonathan Caicedo in the KOM standings.
The 24-year-old clearly wants to protect his blue jersey today. He's been involved in some skirmishes with Victor Campenaerts also hungry. The Belgian was probably jealous of what his fellow Hour Record aficionados Dowsett and Brandle achieved yesterday...
Missed yesterday? Let's recap...
His day may have started badly after he brushed his teeth before his morning coffee, but it ended with the sweet taste of Colgate and Champagne for Alex Dowsett. I wrote a little piece about how he and teammate Matthias Brandle managed to win a first Grand Tour stage for Israel Start-Up Nation with Dowsett's second win on the Giro seven years after the first. It was also only the second time in his career that the British rider has won something that wasn't a time trial...
Bradley Wiggins had a few things to say about his compatriot's victory, as well:
And here's the stage report and, below, the highlights of day including cat-loving Dowsett's emotional ride along the home straight, being led out by a stray dog...
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Highlights: History-maker Dowsett claims remarkable victory on Stage 8
208km to go: They're off!
The remaining 161 riders have rolled out of San Salvo and through the neutral zone. The flag is waved and this decisive stage is under way. Will we see a big battle for pink on the eve of the first rest day? It's certainly going to be a test of Joao Almeida's maglia rosa credentials...
One non-starter
It was an historic day for Israel Start-Up Nation yesterday as Alex Dowsett and Matthias Brandle combined in the break to deliver the team's first ever Grand Tour stage win courtesy of the man from Essex, but their sprinter Rudy Barbier has stomach problems today and the Frenchman does not take to the start.
As for Alex Cataford - he crashed on the descent of the major climb of the day, but he continues despite a fair bit of road rash...
Ciao ragazzi!
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the second summit finish of the 103rd edition of the Giro - a mountainous trek through the Abruzzo culminating in the mountain-top showdown on the climb of Roccaraso. It's an early start for the riders with the race about to get under way.
Here's what's on the menu on what should be a fruitful day in the battles for both pink and blue...
Stage 8 Recap: Dowsett does it
On the day when GB's remaining GC hope, Simon Yates, had to withdraw from the Giro following his Covid-19 diagnosis for Mitchelton-Scott, Alex Dowsett flew the flag for British racing with a solo victory on Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia.
Seven years after Dowsett last struck gold in the Giro, the 32-year-old proved he was more than merely a time trial specialist by coming out on top of a six-man break that also featured his Israel Start-Up Nation team-mate Matthias Brandle.
Highlights: History-maker Dowsett claims remarkable victory on Stage 8
How to watch the Giro d'Italia live– TV & live streaming
The 103rd edition of the Giro d'Italia is live on eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.
You can watch the entire race for £6.99 on Eurosport Player (monthly subscription), while an annual pass is £39.99.
Each day the Eurosport Player and the Eurosport app will stream uninterrupted coverage of each stage. We will also have rolling coverage online on the Eurosport.co.uk website and our social channels.
And don't forget, we are bringing you daily podcasts from the Bradley Wiggins Show - check in with your podcast platform of choice each evening.
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