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Buongiorno to you all and welcome to live coverage of stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia. The riders are signing on and the racing will be underway in just under 30 minutes.
There were no big mountains but yesterday saw another shake-up in the general classification. Simon Yates won the stage to extend his lead but Chris Froome and Michael Woods both dropped out of the top 10. This is how the general classification looks this morning.
Today, however, should be one for the sprinters. This is the Giro d'Italia, so we can't be too sure of these things and that last little fourth category climb could cause some upset.
Today's stage will finish in the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, one of the fastest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. The riders won't be quite getting up to those speeds but it should be a very fast finish. The Giro d'Italia has utilised the circuit before in 2015 with Ilnur Zakarin attacking to take a solo victory.
Astana came very close to starting one rider down this morning but will start with a full compliment. They had announced that Tanel Kangert wouldn't be on the start line this morning due to gastric issues but the Estonian is made of stern stuff and decided he would give it a go. He's not out of the woods yet, but I wish him good luck. He'll be hoping the break goes quickly this morning.
Elia Viviani signs on in Osimo earlier this morning. He is the major favourite for today and, on top of a victory, he will want to add a few points to his fight for the ciclamino jersey.
The riders are on their way out of town for the start proper, which should be in a few moments. Meanwhile, I have some really exciting news for you. The second offering from Cyclingnews Films is in production. Get a sneak peak of what to expect from our new film, here.
Of course, you can still get our first film The Holy Week here. You can rent or buy it, either way it is a bargain.
A beautiful photo of the riders rolling out of Osimo a little while ago. The crowds have been fantastic every day at the Giro d'Italia.
The attacks are coming off the front of the peloton but we don't yet have a proper breakaway. The sprinters teams are going to keep a tight control on today. There are not too many chances for the fast men and they won't want to let it slip through their fingers. It is an opportunity to get some points for the points classification before the race hits the mountains again. Viviani has a clear lead in that competition at the moment.
And it looks like we might have our break now. Five riders have a gap of a minute seconds on the bunch. They are Marco Frapporti, Mirco Maestri, Manuel Senni, Jacopo Mosca and Eugert Zhupa.
That's each of the Italian Pro Continental teams represented in the move, which is no surprise. Both Bardiani CSF and Wilier Triestina have two riders up there. Israel Cycling Academy is the only one of the Pro Continental teams who haven't managed to get a rider up the road.
194km remaining from 214km
All of these riders have been ever present in the breakaways throughout this Giro d'Italia. Androni rider Marco Frapporti is currently duking it out with this teammate Davide Ballerini for the intermediate sprints competition.
The gap continues to push out to 4:14. It's a long day out there today so the peloton will be happy to give them plenty of room.
This is the moment that the breakaway went. You can see that the peloton is already flat across the front and the pace has turned down. Today's move came a lot easier than it has done in previous days with the chances of something sticking minimal to say the least.
One rider that will be happier for a slightly easier day out is Chris Froome. The Team Sky rider lost 40 seconds yesterday and dropped out of the top 10, but told reporters that he was not considering abandoning. Read his full comments after yesterday's stage, here.
Having a much better day was Simon Yates, who took the stage win and extended his lead in the overall classification. With the time trial at the start of next week, Yates knows that he needs more time on second place Tom Dumoulin if he wants to keep hold of the maglia rosa. See what he had to say, here.
Having a much better day was Simon Yates, who took the stage win and extended his lead in the overall classification. With the time trial at the start of next week, Yates knows that he needs more time on second place Tom Dumoulin if he wants to keep hold of the maglia rosa. See what he had to say, here.
Mitchelton-Scott are getting a lot of help on the front of the peloton with EF Education First, Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors all putting riders up near the front. They have dragged the gap back to 3:35.
All three teams have a potential contender in the mix today with double stage winner Elia Viviani for Quick-Step, stage 7 winner Sam Bennett for Bora-Hansgrohe and Sacha Modolo for EF Education First.
Elia Viviani had this to say at the start of the day: "I'm fine, after some stages of fatigue yesterday the sensations have come back great. I have passed well Filottrano, we see today, there is a fast finish on the Imola racetrack, we expect a sprint, perhaps rain in the final, we hope it will hold off."
148km remaining from 214km
Eurosport reports that Marco Frapporti will pass the 500k mark in the breakaway today. He will be looking to get something to celebrate that with and take some points at the intermediate sprint.
Frapporti sitting in penultimate wheel as the leaders approach the intermediate sprint. He has Mosca in his wheel. Frapporti makes the jump and Mosca is quick to react but the former is too quick and he takes the sprint to move into the lead of the intermediate sprints competition.
The peloton passes through the same point 3:05 behind the leaders. Elia Viviani moves towards the front and easily snaffles the best points remaining to extend his lead in the points classification.
Marco Frapporti is the oldest member of the breakaway today at 33 years old. He has been part of the Androni team since 2013 but also rode for Bardiani from 2008-2011, with a one-year spell at Team Idea in the middle. This is his fifth Giro d'Italia and despite all the breakaway kilometres he's clocked up over the years he's never won a stage. It's unlikely to happen today.
Here is the breakaway getting in a few refreshments, though they have not quite hit the feed zone proper.
Bora-Hansgrohe continue to push the pace with members of the EF Education First and Quick-Step teams close at hand. Mitchelton-Scott are getting a very easy ride at the moment, which they'll be thankful for ahead of a very tough weekend to come.
122 kilometres until the finish line in Imola. The track was inaugurated in 1953 and first hosted a Formula 1 race 10 years later in 1963. The layout has changed a little over the years with the most recent iteration coming in 2007. The full circuit is just under five kilometres long with a the lap record set at 1 minute 23.
Many of the changes made over the years have been due to concerns over safety. In 1994, three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna was killed in crash at the Tamburello corner early in the race. The incident came just a day after Roland Ratzenberger was killed in qualifying.
Today's stage will not use the whole track. It enters it with 18 kilometres to go before exiting again to take on the one classified climbs of the day. They will come back in on the Rivazza less than a kilometre before the finish on the pit straight. In total, the riders will race on around 3.5 kilometres of the track.
Who is your pick for today? Let me know on Twitter @SadhbhOS
If you missed the news earlier on we are working on our second Cyclingnews Films production. This one is called the Crescendo and it will follow the final week of the Giro d'Italia. You can watch the trailer here.
This is the fabulous poster for our new film. You can pro-order it now so that it will be available for you as soon as it is released. You can do that here.
Some rain jackets going on in the peloton as the dark clouds come into view. There is rain predicted at the finish line and that could change things up quite a bit. It was pretty wet the last time the race visited Imola.
Some rain jackets going on in the peloton as the dark clouds come into view. There is rain predicted at the finish line and that could change things up quite a bit. It was pretty wet the last time the race visited Imola.
87km remaining from 214km
It's not just the Giro d'Italia that is on at the moment, the Tour of California is also underway. Yesterday saw the time trial and we have a massive tech gallery from the stage. Take a look at it here.
The rain is really coming down hard now. This is something that the GC contenders could have done without. They will have to be extra careful on corners and while lines because the roads are very slick at the moment.
The gap has gone up a little bit as the peloton take it a little easier. We can see more of the GC teams moving up the bunch. The best place is at the front because they don't want to get stuck behind any of the crashes.
These roads don't get that much rain and find it harder to deal with it compared to places such as the UK where it rains a lot more. Fortunately, it isn't as bad out there as it has been in the past. Remember stage 4 to Bari in the 2014 Giro d'Italia? I did live coverage for that stage and it was neutralised for most of the day.
Earlier I mentioned Sam Bennett, Sacha Modolo and Elia Viviani as possible winners today. There are a few others, particularly with the conditions now, that could be up there mixing it for the win. Top of that tree is Danny van Poppel, who hasn't had a win since January and will want to get off the mark during this race.
Someone like Jurgen Roelandts could be up in the mix as could Jens Debusschere. Ryan Gibbons and Jempy Drucker are also outside bets.
The rain has eased off now and the roads are getting a short chance to dry out. The gap has gone up now as Quick-Step Floors continue to set the pace. With just under 60 kilometres remaining, the gap stands at three minutes.
Sam Bennett certainly seems like the overwhelming favourite for people at the moment. He claimed his first ever Grand Tour stage win last week. Can he get his second? If you think it might be someone else who takes the win or you agree with everyone else, then get in contact on Twitter.
Marco Frapporti isn't given an easy run at the intermediate sprint. Mirco Maestri tries to go for it, as does Eugert Zhupa, and Frapporti really has to battle but he takes the points by a good margin in the end.
Elia Viviani once again easily takes the sprint from the bunch. Nobody giving him any trouble as he racks up more points for the ciclamino jersey.
It has been dry for a bit but the sky is getting very dark and ominous. More rain predicted before the finish and we've still got well over 40 kilometres to go.
Simon Yates has been well protected by his Mitchelton-Scott teammates so far today.
36km remaining from 214km
We might be in week two of the Giro d'Italia but the racing calendar waits for nobody and the Tour de France guide is available to order already. Check it out here.
29km remaining from 214km
It looks like Richard Carapaz is one of the riders who has lost out. No time gaps, however, so we don't know how far back he is. The pink jersey is in the front group.
Bora-Hansgrohe putting in a shift on the front, indicating that Bennett is in this group. Quick-Step Floors moved back but they are also present near the front. Viviani is near the back of a group, but no indication as which group.
Live timing seems to indicate that Viviani is in the second peloton, so he has missed the split.
23km remaining from 214km
Live timing would indicate that Sam Bennett has also been caught behind the split. I have not seen him yet and it's Team Sunweb now leading the charge.
20km remaining from 214km
Tim Wellens attacks. Unusually, he decides to go on a corner and with everyone taking it a bit easy he has a small gap.
The Viviani/Carapaz group has made contact with the front group so we have one bit peloton now with Wellens out front by about 10 seconds.
17km remaining from 214km
Wellens is on the circuit but he only has 10 seconds as Quick-Step Floors lead the chase.
After all that effort from Quick-Step, Viviani has been dropped and he's in the cars. This race has exploded once again thanks to that attack from Wellens - and the rain.
Viviani is on his own and he doesn't have any teammates to help him while Katusha pushes on out front.
12km remaining from 214km
Wellens was on the attack yesterday and he already has a victory from this year's Giro d'Italia.
EF Education First have now taken up the workload for Sacha Modolo and they're reeling in Wellens as he leaves the circuit. He has just 12 seconds now.
The riders won't see the circuit again until the final kilometre now. They are heading on a short loop that includes one category four climb.
As they climb Tre Monti, Wellens is brought back into the peloton and Alex Dowsett attacks.
10km remaining from 214km
Henao has one of the Katusha riders with him, but they don't have much space.
EF Education First continue to drag the bunch along and they bring this pair back.
An attack from Rohan Dennis.
As they crest the top of the climb, it is brought back together. Dennis' attack woke up Mitchelton-Scott and Simon Yates brought it back himself.
Dennis is over two minutes down in the overall standings, but Yates is giving him nothing, even on a finish like this.
Sam Bennett rolls off the front of the peloton. He's been brought back by Mohoric.
A strange move from Bennett.
Ulissi now attacks
Ulissi has a small gap but the peloton is chasing hard behind. This is a much more frenetic finish than many would have expected, helped by the fact that Viviani is missing from this group.
Ulissi has Betancur with him now. He was in the break with Zakarin when he won in Imola in 2015.
5km remaining from 214km
4km remaining from 214km
Matej Mohoric is trying to bridge the gap. A challenge for anyone to drop him on a descent. Even a Betancur on a mission.
This is breathless stuff. The leaders look over their shoulder and they can see the peloton chasing behind.
Ulissi has been distanced by Mohoric and Betancur and he's brought back by the peloton. Just two men out front now.
2km remaining from 214km
EF Education First and Bora-Hansgrohe are leading the charge. This is tense.
They'll enter the circuit again in just a few hundred metres.
They're onto the circuit again now and it is still four seconds for the leading pair.
Bennett goes for a long sprint
Bennett storms past and takes the win by a country mile
Wow, that was powerful. He sat up briefly and it looked like Van Poppel was going to catch him but he has plenty of space in the end.
Mohoric and Betancur still had a lead with a few hundred metres to go but they didn't stand a chance when Bennett began his sprint.
Bennett was obviously concerned that if he left his sprint too late then they two out front might just hold on. He took a huge risk going as early as he did and the other sprinters weren't expecting it, which allowed him to get a huge gap initially. The rest began closing on him in the final metres but he'd done more than enough to join Elia Viviani and Simon Yates as a double winner in this year's Giro d'Italia.
Here is the top 10 from today's stage.
Despite some panic late on in the stage for Carapaz, there has been no changes to the top 10 in the overall classification.
With no Viviani in that group, Bennett has massively closed the gap to the Italian in the maglia ciclamino competition. There are just 22 points between the pair. Let's hope they make it all the way to Rome and we can have a proper battle between the two sprinters for this competition.
This is what Bennett had to say following his second win of this Giro d'Italia.
This was the moment that Bennett claimed his victory.
Richard Carapaz still has the young rider jersey after today's stage, this is what he had to say about the scare that he had when the race split up.
Simon Yates on the stage from his perspective.
Catch up on all that happened today with our report, photos and full results.
That is all from our live coverage of stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia. See you again tomorrow for stage 13 and remember, as always, to keep tuned to the website for reactions from today's stage. We will also have more live coverage from the Tour of California a little later today.
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