Start times for Giro d'Italia stage 9 time trial

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The second of three time trials during the 2019 Giro d'Italia, Sunday's 34.8 kilometre test between Riccione and the microstate of San Marino is perhaps the toughest to gauge. Flat for 22 kilometres, it's the 12.8-kilometre climb to the finish that provides the most uncertainty.

With two time checks coming before the climbing starts (at 11.7 and 22.2 kilometres), there'll be some idea of which riders have coped best with the rain-hit opening week, and who is gaining form as the race progresses. However, the uneven ascent to the finish is set to throw all of that out of the window.

Officially, the average for the climb might be 4.5 per cent, but the hill's rhythm-altering false flats and descents hide what is an average gradient of almost 7 per cent when the road rears up. Maximum gradients of 11 per cent feature both in the final kilometre and 10 kilometres from the line. To make things harder, there's potential for rain and maybe even thunderstorms mid-afternoon.

Winner of the opening time trial in Bologna, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), is the overwhelming favourite to take victory once more in San Marino. Since the stage 4 departure of Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), the Slovenian is perhaps the only GC contender who can both climb and time trial to the highest level. He sets off 154th, at 15:40 CET.

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) sets off nine minutes earlier, and the Briton looks to be the most intriguing competitor after finishing second in Bologna and winning the mid-race TT at Paris-Nice earlier in the season. Despite his much-improved ability against the clock, he seems certain to lose time on the flat, but how he fares on the climb will be a major factor in how the general classification falls after the stage.

Astana leader Miguel Angel Lopez, who starts at 15:25, will be another one to watch after surprising with fourth in Bologna, even outpaced Dumoulin on the flat section there. Two-time Giro winner Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) follows at 15:28.

Many of the other GC contenders are, predictably, clustered around the same times as those riders above. Deceuninck-QuickStep's Bob Jungels sets off at 15:13, Bora-Hansgrohe leader Rafał Majka starts at 15:22, and the Ineos duo of Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov roll down the ramp at 15:02 and 15:08 respectively.

Maglia rosa Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates) hits the road last, at 16:13. The Italian should, barring disaster, be in pink on Sunday night, although how much time he sheds to the likes of Roglič, Yates and Nibali will be something to watch.

Pure time trialists, such as Lotto Soudal's Victor Campenaerts (13:19) and Jumbo-Visma's Jos Van Emden (13:35), would usually be contenders for victory on a stage like this, although, as it was on stage 1, their prospects are complicated by the climbing.

Giro d'Italia 9 start times