Welcome to live coverage of the stage 9 time trial at the Giro d'Italia.
Giro d'Italia race hub on Cyclingnews
Stage 8: Brambilla wins and steps into pink
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Stage 9 start times
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Twitter @SadhbhOS / @Cyclingnewsfeed
It's time trial day at the Giro d'Italia and it's not long now until we start seeing riders roll down the start ramp.
Cheng Ji will be the first rider to set off in a little over 10 minute's time. You can read through the full start order right here.
It is a very technical time trial with plenty of undulations to contend with. Rain has also been predicted for today. Here is the parcours for today's time trial.
Let us know your predictions for today by tweeting us on @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS. You can find the links above.
Jack Bobridge warming up outside the Trek-Segafredo bus, he is fourth rider off today. He won't be wearing the gold and green bands when he rolls out thought, as it is Rohan Dennis that is the time trial national champion.
Cheng Ji and Mathias Brandle are on course. There are one-minute intervals between the riders at the moment but that will extend to three minutes for the final riders to depart.
@Cyclingnewsfeed King Küng hopefully
And here is Bobridge beginning his ride, courtesy of Trek-Segafredo. Notice the big grey clouds above.
Jay Thomson will be the next rider off for Dimension Data. Thomson is a former South African national time trial champion (2013) and African continental champion (2009).
@SadhbhOS Going to be a very interesting day today I have a feeling Zakarin will be in pink this evening
As we wait for Ji to reach the first time check, we've got some non starters to inform you about this morning. Marcel Kittel departed the Giro d'Italia last night, saying that he needs to focus on recovery after a busy start to the year. Three riders also missed the time cut on yesterday's stage and they were Elia Viviani, Boy van Poppel and Iuri Filossi. You can read the full story here.
Brandle has gone through the first check point with the fastest time so far. The Austrian is 1:24 quicker than Bobridge.
Five riders now through the first intermediate check. Brandle still the quickest with Ji the slowest. The next rider to start their time trial will be Lukasz Wisniowski.
Michael Hepburn could set a good time today. He'll be off in a couple of minutes and here he is warming up a little earlier.
Brandle has already caught his minute man Cheng and is the first to go through the second check at 22km. He is sure to be the early benchmark but how long will his time stand?
@SadhbhOS Tom dumolin could make up over three minutes on his rivals in today's stage I reckon
The third time check is at the 33km mark at the top of the final climb. Brandle is currently over two minutes faster than the next rider at the second check.
Maarten Tjallingii has moved up to second at the first check point but is still 39 seconds down on Brandle. The next rider to start will be FDJ's Olivier Le Gac.
BMC's brass leaving no stone unturned at the start. Their first rider off the ramp will be Daniel Oss in three minute's time.
And it has arrived. The rain is now falling on the course. It's not too heavy now but if it persists then those descents will be made even harder.
We missed him earlier but Cancellara is on course. We eagerly a await his time at the first check.
There we have it. Cancellara goes through the first check 13 seconds down on Brandle and in third. Anton Vorobyev is 11 seconds slower than Brandle.
@SadhbhOS hard to know how Dumoulin will fare today, what do you think @SadhbhOS , can he be back in pink?
It is touch and go, and it all depends on how Dumoulin has recovered from yesterday's setback. However, it is feasible that an in-form Dumoulin could make up at least a minute on the other GC rivals and put himself back into pink. After yesterday's showing, it seems unlikely that he will hold onto it for too long.
Brandle is once again the quickest at the final check with a time of 45:36. He should be the first rider to finish and will get at least a few minutes in the hot seat.
Brambilla has gone for some pink accents on his Specialized Shiv but not overboard.
Brandle comes home in a time of 51:55 as Bobridge enters the final kilometre.
Cancellara has lost even more time at the second intermediate check. He remains third but is now 20 seconds down on Brandle, while Vorobyev is 15 seconds back.
Here is Cancellara at the start a little over half an hour ago.
Chad Haga is due to start in three minutes. The American rider put in a strong time in the opening TT and could be a dark horse today.
Brandle's IAM teammate Vegard Stake Laengen has gone out quickly and posts the fastest time by three seconds. Stage 1 surprise rider Primoz Roglic goes through with the third quickest time at 12 seconds down.
Here are how things stand at the finish for the moment.
Tjallingii jumps into second place at the finish, 1:06 behind Brandle. We know that there are some much quicker riders out on course, so he'll soon be nudged out of the podium places.
@SadhbhOS @Cyclingnewsfeed mostly downhill section between intermediate1and2. doesn't seem the day 4 Cancellara who lost some time there...
Several members of the LottoNL-Jumbo team warming up earlier.
Cancellara remains in third place at the final intermediate check now at 29 seconds down. He's got a downhill run towards the line to try and make up that time.
It looks like Laengen went out a bit too quickly and he has dropped to fourth fastest at the second intermediate check. Roglic is now pushing Brandle closest at 14 seconds behind at the midway point.
Remember to tweet us at @SadhbhOS and @Cyclingnewsfeed with your predictions and we'll post some of them here. You can find the direct links above.
Cancellara posts the second quickest time of 52:13 at 18 seconds down. He managed to make up some time but not quite enough.
An update on how things look at the finish after those latest times.
Andre Greipel has just set off on course. He'll be very pleased with how his Giro d'Italia has gone so far and will be aiming for some more stage wins next week.
Laengen bounces back from a bad middle sector to go second fastest just seven seconds down and he bumps Cancellara into third.
We have a new fastest time. Primoz Roglic was beaten by less than a second in the opening time trial. He has now gone 10 seconds quicker than Brandle at the finish with his time of 51:45.
This is your new top 10
Roglic paced himself very well, moving up the standings as he passed through each of the time checks. The Slovenian is really coming into his own at this year's Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour since switching from ski jumping to cycling.
Trek's time trial bikes ready and waiting for their riders at the start.
Patrick Gretsch puts in a decent time of 53:23 to put himself into seventh. Martijn Keizer also slips into the top 10 in ninth place.
Jos Van Emden is going reasonably well. The LottoNL-Jumbo rider is 28 seconds down at the second intermediate check.
Maurilo Antoni Fischer warming down after his ride. He is currently in 40th place.
It's raining again at the start of the time trial.
Van Emden comes through into sixth place at the finish, 1:06 behind his teammate Roglic.
Chad Haga just misses out on the top 10 with his time of 53:57.
An updated version of the top 10 at the finish.
Stefan Kung is almost 10 minutes into his effort and he's on wet roads. That will be a big disadvantage for the Swiss rider and could be the difference between himself and victory.
Matteo Trentin sets off and we've still got another 54 riders awaiting their start.
Do you think that Roglic can keep hold of the lead or will he be defeated again? Let us know what you think on twitter on @SadhbhOS and @Cyclingnewsfeed
Wow, the rain is really coming down hard in certain places.
Moreno Moser starts his ride. He had a very good day yesterday and also put in a decent opening time trial. What can he do today.
We have a bit of a three-up time trial as Kung, Betancur and Sbaragli ride together. Sbaragli was the first of those to start, while Kung was last. So that's his two-minute man he's caught.
Full focus from Bob Jungels. He's off in just under half an hour. He would have been one of the favourites but it will be hard with how heavy the rain is falling.
While it is very wet in the early part of the course, it is actually bone dry at the finish. Elsewhere, the rain has abated and the roads are drying.
Kung is 15 seconds down at the first intermediate check but he is now on dryer roads, which should help him make some of that up.
Tobias Ludvigsson catches his minute man Alexey Tsatevich. He seems to be going quite well thus far.
Vincenzo Nibali's team boss Alexander Vinokourov is at the Giro d'Italia today and he had this to say at the start.
@cyclingnewsfeed Of course @rogla will keep the lead! In my opinion he was robbed in the prologue, but then, I am Slovenian by birth. #Giro
Kung has lost a bit more time at the second check and he is now 33 seconds down.
Nieve is out on course and we're almost into the last 30 riders. We have an hour before the pink jersey of Gianluca Brambilla sets off.
Riders are having to take their time through some of these tricky corners. The rain is making the roads very slick and a crash is not something that anyone wants.
The time is nearing for the GC riders to take to the route. Brush up on how things stand with our analysis of yesterday's stage, right here.
Tom Dumoulin starts warming up ahead of his departure in 20 minutes. What can he do today?
Ryder Hesjedal rolls down the start ramp to start his test. His time trialling can go either way in Grand Tours but he is often one of the better of the GC riders.
Pieter Serry goes ninth fastest with a time of 53:32.
With Serry's time, this is how the top 10 now looks.
This is how it looks on certain parts of the course, courtesy of the Cannondale team.
Stefan Kung crosses the line in sixth place with a time of 52:43. He was no doubt hindered by the rain showers.
Tobias Ludvigsson is collecting a little tail of riders. He's still got Tsatevich behind him but now he has caught Agnoli, who is doing his best to hang on.
Bob Jungels out on course now. Thankfully for the Luxembourg rider, some of the road are drying out.
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Manuele Boaro slots into 9th place with his time of 53:16.
This is the latest top 10 after Boaro's time.
As Tom Dumoulin lines up to start his time trial, here is a look at the top 15 in the GC as it stands at the moment.
Mikel Landa is next off. He delayed the start of his season to try and improve his time trialling. We will find out how well that has worked but we suspect it is a case of damage limitation today.
Primoz Roglic is still happily waiting in the hot seat.
Three minutes separate each of the riders at this point so if we see any catches then that will be huge. Brambilla will be down the ramp at 16:16 local time.
Bob Jungels goes through the first intermediate check at just a second down on the quickest Laengen. That is a great time.
We've just seen one of the Tinkoff riders crashing on a corner. It was Pawel Poljanski. His teammate Rafal Majka is about to start.
Amador is really flying at the moment. He goes through the first check at 11.6km six seconds quicker than anyone else..
This is the first time that Roglic's time has looked anywhere near under threat. However, there are some very wet roads to come and Roglic timed his run very well so it's going to be a tough ask for Amador and Jungels.
Uran starts his ride. He won the time trial at the Giro d'Italia two years ago and told Cyclingnews before the race started that this stage would work as an advantage for him over some of his rivals.
Tom Dumoulin is 15 seconds down on Amador at the first check point.
Vincenzo Nibali keeps the legs spinning before he sets off in two minutes.
And Nibali is off. With his bike handling skills, he should do well on a route such as this, especially considering the rain.
Landa sets a time that is 31 seconds slower than Amador at the first check, which is not too bad for the Spaniard. Jungels goes through the second check and is now 15 seconds down, compared to the 1 at the first check.
After such a quick time in the opening section, Amador is now 25 seconds down at the second time check. That is a big loss.
There is still some heavy rain over large parts of the course.
Zakarin has started his ride and it is just Brambilla to start.
Dumoulin gingery approaches the second intermediate check and he loses 50 seconds now. His chances of taking back pink and are looking slim right now.
Brambilla is off and that is all the riders out on course. We will soon start seeing how the complexion of the general classification has changed.
Esteban Chaves passes through the first intermediate check at 44 seconds down. Today is about damage limitation for him.
Landa is passes through the second and he's not too far behind the time of Tom Dumoulin and is just over a minute down for now.
Hesjedal comes through to the finish, taking the final corner very slowly. He posts a time of 54:43 which is 2:58 slower than our fastest rider Primoz Roglic.
As Hesjedal finishes, Nibali goes through the first intermediate time check. He is 25 seconds slower that Amador was at that stage.
A reminder of how things currently stand in the top 10
Rafal Majka goes through the second time check at 1:27 down and that is not a great time for the Polish rider.
The final run towards the line has caught a few riders out today. There's a tight corner, road paint and cobbles to contend with. Let's hope that all the remaining riders can make it through ok.
Uran has lost a lost of time as he goes through that second check. He's almost two minutes down.
Jungels approaching the finish line now as Zakarin goes 18 seconds down at the first time check.
Jungels doesn't managed to beat Roglic's time. He stops the clock at 52:30 and that is good enough for sixth place.
Amador will be the next rider through. Will he pay for his fast start or can he take some time back in this final section?
Brambilla passes through the first check and he is 44 seconds down on the fastest check. If my calculations are correct then that makes Zakarin the provisional maglia rosa already.
Amador posts the 10th fastest time at the finish 1:19 down on Roglic. That is a solid performance for him ahead of the mountains next week.
This is what Amador's time does to the standings for today's stage.
Andre Greipel and Tim Wellens finished their efforts a long time ago but they have to hang around to accept the blue and red jersey's on the podium. At least they're keeping warm.
Alejandro Valverde goes through the second time check at 57 seconds down, which is two seconds quicker than Vincenzo Nibali.
Dumoulin finishes his time trial. He won the opening time trial by less than a second over Roglic. This time, he is 1:58 behind the Slovenian and in 15th place. He'll be pretty disappointed with that.
Steven Kruijswijk goes through the second check point in the same time as Mikel Landa, at 1:05 down.
Roglic watching on in the hotseat. Last time, he saw his time beat right at the end but it looks likely that he will claim victory today.
Zakarin loses quite a bit a time in the second part of the course and he is now 55 seconds back on the quickest time at the second check. That is just two seconds quicker than Valverde.
Landa crosses the line 2:20 down on Roglic and that is just 22 seconds down on Dumoulin. An impressive effort from the Spaniard.
A problem for Zakarin. He gets a quick shove to help him back on his way.
It's not clear what the issue was but that is a delay he wouldn't have wanted.
Brambilla goes through the second check at 1:22 down so he has pulled some time back on Zakarin and will get a bit more back with that problem for the Russian. He could still save his pink jersey.
Tom Dumoulin looked very disappointed at the finish. This is what he had to say at the finish.
Majka will be the next rider to cross the finish line and we just have seven more after that.
Majka gives the final corner a very wide berth and almost disappears. He finishes 2:56 down on Roglic and that is not what he would have wanted at all.
Another problem for Zakarin and he has another bike change. He has some skinsuit missing on his left leg so he must have come down at some point. That is a disaster for Zakarin.
Uran finishes in a time of 55:57 and that is a massive 4:12 slower. That is a massive blow to his overall ambitions.
Valverde loses time at the final check and is now going slower than both Landa and Nibali. He was 1:43 down compared to Landa's 1:34.
Chaves crosses the finish line at 3:48 down on Roglic, a big loss for the Colombian.
Now it is Nibali that finishes to huge cheers from the crowds. He takes the final corner very carefully and finishes in a time of 54:58 which is 2:13 down.
Just four riders left to finish. Valverde is next up.
Valverde now finishes. After starting off fast, he dropped off a little in the second half of this course. He stops the clock at 54:09 and is 2:24 down on Roglic.
Brambilla getting huge cheers as he passes through the final intermediate check. We don't get a time so we'll just have to see how he's done.
Kruijswijk crosses the finish line at 22:23 down, a second quicker than Valverde. Almost all of the GC riders are finishing close together on time, but there have been some big losers such as Majka and Uran. Just two more to post a time.
Zakarin enters the final kilometre, how much time has he lost after all those problems?
And another crash for Zakarin. He crashes on the final corner and loses his chain to boot.
Zakarin was already about to lose quite a bit of time but he crosses the line 3:51 down and that is well over a minute behind the likes of Nibali, Landa and Valverde.
Brambilla makes it around the final corner safely and he finishes in a time of 53:50 and 2:05 down. We'll have to wait and see it that was enough but that should be him still in the maglia rosa, just.
While we wait for the calculations to be done, it is certain that Roglic has taken the stage win.
No doubt helped by the rain but that is a good performance for someone who only stepped up to WorldTour level this year.
Confirmation that Brambilla keeps hold of the jersey bu a single second over his teammate Bob Jungels with Andrey Amador in third place.
The stage top 10 again but this time with the time splits. The 10 seconds a much bigger gap than the one he lost by just over a week ago.
Here is a very happy looking stage winner.
Here is the general classification standings after that stage. After looking like he might take pink, Zakarin has actually dropped out of the top 10 as has Uran.
Roglic spraying the champagne on the podium, will this be the first of many for the Slovenian in his career.
Roglic was certainly surprised at the finish and here is what he had to say.
If that really was Roglic's first TT of that length then he certainly impressed. LottoNL-Jumbo obviously expected good things from him and he was one of only three riders training up at altitude towards the end of last month.
After a long wait, Andre Greipel steps up onto the podium to accept his red jersey. He's one of the few sprinters remaining in the race after we lost Kittel and Viviani yesterday.
@SadhbhOS The Algarve time trial in which he finished 24th was 18 km. Other than that, very impressive!
Brambilla did not begin the day expecting to keep hold of the pink jersey and this is what he said at the finish.
Brambilla's teammate Jungels is in second and leads the young rider's classification. This is what he had to say following the stage.
We've got a report and full stage classification already. We've also got some pictures, and you can find all that here.
Here is Brambilla back on the podium with his pink jersey.
And here is the stage winner on the podium
That is it from us today, head here for today's results and keep tuned for all the reaction on Cyclingnews.com. We'll be back with live action on Tuesday following the rest day.
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