Good afternoon. It is time trial day at the Giro d'Italia as the race begins its final week. Strap yourself in as we cover the stage from start to finish. The first rider Giuseppe Fonzi will be off in a little under 20 minutes. You can find a full list of start times here.
Today is a very important day for the general classifications. A bad day here could all but end the chances of some. For Simon Yates, who starts the day in the maglia rosa, it is possibly his biggest test of the whole race. Get through this and he takes a big step towards winning the race. Of course, there are plenty more mountains to come and anything can happen. Stephen Farrand has previewed the crucial chrono and this. Read the full story here.
While several have reconned the time trial in the build-up to the race, the riders had time to take a look at the course this morning. This is Simon Yates doing just that a few hours ago.
You may have noted that Yates is wearing a few extra layers there. The temperatures have been rising and are closing in on the 20 C mark but it is wet out there, which could cause a few problems. There is a light headwind, which Tom Dumoulin will be thankful for, though it is expected to slow as the day progresses.
Before Fonzi rolls down the ramp, perhaps the most important statistic this afternoon, the general classification. This is how things look at the moment. Does Dumoulin have enough in him to overhaul Yates and take back pink?
We're off! Fonzi has set off and Eugert Zhupa is one his way too.
Journalist Daniel Friebe reports that Sunweb are expecting Dumoulin to only make up a minute on Yates in the time trial. Though, others are a bit sceptical by this prediction. This is a fast course with little technical elements. The headwind could play into Dumoulin's strengths as a time trialist. Some are expecting it to be much closer to two minutes, which would really bring him close to Yates.
Both Svein Tuft and Mads Pedersen are out on the road. These two are likely to set the early benchmark for the later riders to aim for. Ryan Mullen and Victor Campenaerts are due off in the next 10 minutes and should be up the pointy end of proceedings at the end of the day.
If you missed any of last week's action and want to catch up before the GC riders get underway, take a look at our rest day recap, here. It has all you need to know about the second week of action at the 2018 Giro d'Italia.
There are two time checks out there. The first comes at 12.7km and the second at 25.6. There are some lumps featuring around the second of the time checks but today's TT is ultimately flat. The first riders should be hitting the first time check soon enough.
Our second Cyclingnews Films production CRESCENDO will take a look behind the scenes at the final week of the Giro d'Italia. You can watch our trailer here and pre-order it here.
Pedersen gets a bit of a tow from a team van that was out there supporting Boy van Poppel, who was Pedersen's minute man. That's a big punch of air that the van punched. He tags onto Van Poppel before dropping the Dutchman. Pedersen could get into trouble for that. It depends on what the commissaire thinks.
Pedersen has been one of the breakout stars this year with his podium finish at the Tour of Flanders in April. He sets a 16:09 at the first intermediate, which is the fastest time as it stands. We hear that Svein Tuft is taking it a bit easier and is more than a minute down on Pedersen.
Ryan Mullen goes through the intermediate check at 15:55. That's way faster than his teammate Pedersen. Campenaerts will be going through the check very soon.
Here are the top 5 at the first check at the moment before Campenaerts passes through.
As I said earlier, this is a fast course and riders are maxing out at around 60kph. An interesting selection of gearing out there to deal with the speeds. Alex Dowsett, who is out on course at the moment, says that he's using a 58 ring, while Dumoulin is expected to use a 56.
Campanaerts goes slower than Mullen at the first check, while Pedersen is fastest at the second. Campanaerts is about to catch his minute man William Bonnet.
Pedersen's time at the second check was 30:28.
It looks like Mullen has a problem. He's rolling slowly and is slapping his thigh. It looks like he's got some cramp. That surely spells the end of his shot at victory.
The Irishman had just gone through the second check when the problems occurred. He stops the clock at 30:24. It's still the quickest time but he's lost a chunk on his teammate.
After his cramp issues, Mullen is back in the aero position. He catches Schillinger, who started three minutes ahead of him.
Vasil Kiryienka set off about five minutes ago. It will be interesting to see how he attacks the time trial. He could be saving himself like Svein Tuft, but if he is let off the leash then he could be in the mix at the finish. Another man to watch out for is Jos van Emden, who has just begun his effort.
Further along the course, Alex Dowsett is putting in a good time. He is just four seconds slower than Mullen at the first check.
Campenaerts is charging along and he goes one second quicker than Mullen at the second check. A strong run by the European champion.
Ryan Mullen finishes his run and he is slower than Pedersen at 41:04. Mullen stops the clock at 41:09. But for the cramp he may be leading this time trial.
Svein Tuft spoke to Eurosport after his run and he says that he had a tailwind for his effort, which he believes will help his teammate Simon Yates if it sticks.
Elia Viviani finishes with a solid time. He's in fifth place but he's over two minutes down on Pedersen.
Victor Campenaerts is coming into the finish. What sort of time can he do?
Campenaerts sprints to the line, his mouth agape. He has the carrot of Florian Senechal ahead of him and he stops the clock at 40:07. That is three seconds back on Pedersen and two up on Mullen. Pedersen lets out a sigh of relief.
That last little rolling section seems to have done Campenaerts and he gave away a decent amount of time to Pedersen. Meanwhile, Kiryienka goes through the first check in the second fastest time while Dowsett goes quickest at the second check. That big ring paying dividends?
Wow! Jos van Emden smashes the fastest time at the first check. He goes 13 seconds faster than Mullen.
Ryan Mullen was understandably gutted after missing out on today's stage. This is what he had to say at the finish line.
What a time from Alex Dowsett he sets the fastest time of 40:40.
Dowsett is sitting on the floor catching his breath. Pedersen gives him a pat on the back as he rolls off to the team bus.
Here was Dowsett out on course a little while earlier.
Vasil Kiryienka crosses the line in a time of 41:04, that is bang on the time set by Pedersen and puts him in second place.
This is how the top 5 looks at the moment with Jos van Emden approaching the finish line.
Van Emden finishes and he beats Dowsett's time by 13 seconds. That's an impressive ride from the LottoNL-Jumbo rider.
In the meantime, Tony Martin has gone faster than Van Emden at the second intermediate by 14 seconds. Let's see what the German can do on the finish line.
This is what Alex Dowsett had to say, before his time was beaten by Van Emden. He was speaking to Eurosport.
Tony Martin has crosses the line and it is a fine time from the former time trial world champion. He stops the clock at 40:14. He has smashed the time of Jos van Emden. The times are tumbling at the moment. Will that one withstand the GC guys in a couple of hours?
Van Emden didn't even make it to the hotseat. Tony Martin should be able to enjoy a little bit longer on the hotseat with no time trial specialists due in for a while.
This is what that's done to the top 5. Former hotseat occupant Mads Pedersen is now a whopping 50 seconds off the pace.
This was Tony Martin out on course in his German national TT kit. The national championships in June last year was Martin's last TT victory, though we have seen him on the attack a few times so far in this Giro d'Italia.
Side note, you can pre-order our next film on Vimeo. It's called CRESCENDO, and we're going to focus on the final week of the Giro, with more behind the scenes tales from the race. It's out on June 1 but you can pick it up at our special pre-order price now.
Nico Denz going well out on course. He catches and passes a much slower Darwin Atapuma.
Mads Wurts finishes in a time of 41:12, which puts him in eighth place. A solid effort from him.
In other time trial news, the UCI confirmed yesterday that this year's World Championships would be the last time that we see a trade team time trial. However, they have left the door open for a national team time trial. Read the full story here.
Chad Haga is going well out on course. He has gone fourth fastest at the opening check. He is 16 seconds back on the fastest time set by Van Emden.
Tony Martin is a hard man to fluster and he's looking very relaxed in the hotseat at the moment. It's been a while since he's been in this position and he's enjoying it as much as he can.
This is what Tony Martin had to say after smashing the fastest time a little while ago.
Fabio Aru is well down the standings after a tough weekend in the mountains. He's getting himself ready to start his effort. This will likely be a 'making it through' sort of day. His GC chances are dust now. The best he can hope for is to save his power and aim for a stage win.
Chad Haga still going reasonably strongly. He's remains fourth fastest at the second time check, 34 seconds behind Tony Martin.
Despite earlier predictions of a headwind, the weather is expected to give the riders a touch of a tailwind. The rain that was predicted has also failed to stay throughout the afternoon. The roads are bone dry now. Though, we could still get some before the finish.
Chad Haga finishes with the fourth quickest time, which is where he has been throughout his ride. A solid effort from the American.
Here is your updated top 5
Side note, you can pre-order our next film on Vimeo. It's called CRESCENDO, and we're going to focus on the final week of the Giro, with more behind the scenes tales from the race. It's out on June 1 but you can pick it up at our special pre-order price now.
Fabio Aru is out on course. We'll see the first of the top 10 heading out in just under 20 minutes
Esteban Chaves is not a fan of time trials but he was still smiling at the start of his run earlier on today.
Chaves' teammate Simon Yates is on the brink of the biggest result of his career. The Lancashire rider is remaining his usual calm self. "I came to the Giro d'Italia to win but if I can't, that's okay, I won't lose sleep. I want to be the best I can be, but if this is the max, then that's okay too," he said on the rest day. Read his full comments here.
Chris Froome is warming up as he prepares for his effort. This was Froome checking out the course this morning. What can he do today?
Groupama-FDJ rider George Preidler is going well as he sets the fifth fastest time at the opening check. It remains to be seen if he can hold that until the finish line.
A good effort from Fabio Aru this far. he's just 10 seconds slower than Van Emden at the opening check. He's come out fighting today, more so than I expected.
Rohan Dennis starts as we approach the top 10 in the GC. Dennis is in 11th after wearing pink earlier in the race. He is less than 30 seconds outside the top 10 so should make it back in if all goes well today.
A reminder of how the general classification looks at the moment.
Max Schachmann passes Jack Haig, who started two minutes before him. He is not in contention for the win as he passes through the second check over a minute slower than Tony Martin.
Tom Dumoulin will be off at 27 minutes past the hour. He could take the win today, but that's a secondary concern to how much time he can make on Simon Yates. Here he is warming up.
Wow. Fabio Aru still going strong. He's only 22 seconds down on Tony Martin at the second check. He's not ready to give up on the general classification just yet.
George Bennett is out on course. He came to recon the course ahead of the Tour of the Alps but was hit by a car five kilometres from the finish. So, this morning was his first chance to see the last five kilometres.
Chris Froome is a few minutes into his time trial. On his day, he's a major favourite for the win but he's been a bit off for most of this Giro d'Italia. He won on the Zoncolan but paid for that effort the day after. It all depends on how he has come out of the rest day.
Rohan Dennis posts a time of 15:28 at the first intermediate check, which is 13 seconds quicker than Van Emden. He missed out on the win on stage 1 and he will really want this.
Rohan Dennis rolling down the ramp almost 20 minutes ago.
Miguel Angel Lopez is off. Like Froome, he crashed ahead of the opening time trial and really suffered badly. He's come good in the last few stages. However, a time trial is not his favoured hunting ground.
Fabio Aru is giving it his all as he drives for the line. What a huge effort from the Italian as he stops the clock at 40:37 which is the third fastest time. I'm going to go for a lie down. I just can't quite believe it.
Tony Martin shakes his head. He can't quite believe it either.
Simon Yates warming up with a towel over his head. Not sure if he's just getting in the zone or if it has another function.
This is how the top 5 looks like after that huge effort from Fabio Aru.
Tom Dumoulin is getting ready to start. It's just him and Simon Yates to start.
Chris Froome is sixth fastest at the first check 24 seconds down. Not a great start from the Team Sky rider but he often goes a little quicker in the second half of a time trial. We'll have to wait and see if that is the case today.
Some big deep breaths from Simon Yates on the starting ramp. He'll be off in a minute. He needs the time trial of his life.
Rohan Dennis is through the second intermediate check and he's six seconds quicker than Tony Martin.
Simon Yates rolls out to some huge cheers from the crowds. That is all the riders out on course or finished.
Carapaz does a 16:39 at the first check. He's a minute down on Dennis already.
Miguel Angel Lopez loses a similar amount of time, as has George Bennett. We are likely to see some much bigger gaps between the top half of the top 10 and the bottom by the end of today.
Thibaut Pinot comes through the first intermediate and he loses 1:14. That's a huge amount of time this early on.
Rohan Dennis has crosses the line in a superb time of 40:00. So close to dipping under the 40-minute mark.
That is going to take some beating. We wait to see what Dumoulin has done at the first check.
Meanwhile, Froome is 31 seconds down at the second intermediate check. He's very unlikely to make that time up to take a win, but it's a solid effort.
Tom Dumoulin is through the first check and he's 17 seconds down at the opening check.
This is the updated top 5
Thibaut Pinot out on course. He's not having a great day.
You could balance a glass of water on Dumoulin's back. He's as smooth as silk in the time trial position.
Yates is through the first check and he's 38 seconds down, which is just 21 behind Dumoulin. This is good news for the maglia rosa battle.
Side note, you can pre-order our next film on Vimeo. It's called CRESCENDO, and we're going to focus on the final week of the Giro, with more behind the scenes tales from the race. It's out on June 1 but you can pick it up at our special pre-order price now.
While Tom Dumoulin is pretty much aero perfection, Domenico Pozzovivo is not. His knees stick out when he's down in TT position.
Chris Froome drives to the line. He manages to beat Fabio Aru's time by two seconds. He is 35 seconds back on Dennis.
Pinot comes through the second check and he's lost well over two minutes. Oh dear.
Simon Yates does not look very comfortable. He's wriggling around on his saddle a lot.
Pozzovivo comes through the second check 1:50 down. That is about 40 seconds quicker than Pinot, who is just behind him in the overall standings.
Dumoulin hits the second intermediate and is 19 seconds down. He's lost an additional two seconds to Dennis. It looks like the Australian could have this, unless Dumoulin has something special saved for the finish.
Carapaz loses 2:57 on the line. He'll be happy that is over and done with.
We have just five riders to finish now. We didn't see George Bennett finish earlier but he lost over three minutes on the line. Not a good day for the Kiwi.
Yates comes through the second check. He's 1:07 down on Dennis, which translates as 48 seconds on Dumoulin.
Yates is putting in a great ride. He's out of the saddle and giving it everything in the last part of this time trial.
Here is Dumoulin out on course
Miguel Angel Lopez loses 2:47 on the line, while Thibaut Pinot completely capitulates and gives away 3:19 on Rohan Dennis.
With that finish time for Pinot, it looks like Froome could well jump ahead of him in the overall standings.
Domenico Pozzovivo is next over the line with a time of 42:20 and 2:20 behind Dennis.
Tom Dumoulin is not far behind Domenico Pozzovivo. He stops the clock at 40:22, which is enough for third place on the stage. Rohan Dennis lets out a huge smile. He knows that he's won this stage.
We just have Simon Yates to come. Provided he can make a clean run through this final stretch, he should be in pink this evening.
This is the top 10 with just Yates to finish
A huge crowd around Dumoulin after the finish line.
1km to go for Yates. He has a little more than two minutes to complete it to keep pink.
Yates crosses the line and he has done more than enough to keep the pink jersey.
His time was 41:37. What a ride from him today.
Yates has 56 seconds on Dumoulin heading into the final run towards Rome.
Plenty of changes inside the top 10 after that. Chris Froome and Rohan Dennis the big winners. If he can keep the form for the rest of the week, Froome has put himself in with a shout of a podium spot. Pozzovivo will be a tough man to beat though.
This is how it finished on the stage with Rohan Dennis taking his first ever win at the Giro d'Italia. He now has a win at each of the Grand Tours (though his Vuelta a Espana win came in a team time trial).
This is what the stage winner had to say for himself after the win.
Dennis is grinning from ear to ear as he steps onto the podium. This surely means so much more after missing out by such a small margin in Jerusalem. He's back inside the top 10 now, but can he hold onto it?
Simon Yates after he crossed the line. He has made a big down payment on an overall win at the Giro d'Italia.
BMC directeur sportif Max Sciandri had this to say on Rohan Dennis' performance today.
We already have full results from today's stage and a growing report. You can also find photos from the day in our stage 16 report.
Here are Simon Yates' comments following the stage. Understandably, he's extremely happy with how things panned out today.
Domenico Pozzovivo lost quite a lot of time today but he managed to hold onto his podium spot, just about. He'll be back to his preferred terrain now and he is looking towards trying to gain some ground on those ahead.
With today's stage done and dusted, thoughts will be turning towards tomorrow's stage. It is down as a sprinter stage but it's not an easy day out with a climb right from the start. It isn't categorised but there is a third category ascent halfway through in Lorino. From there, it is flat and the group should have a chance to come back together. If there is some wind out there it could change things though.
This is what tomorrow's stage looks like. It should be a fast and furious start.
We have put together a selection of quotes from the finish line of today's stage. Here are some of the reactions from stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia.
Don't forget that you can pre-order our new film CRESCENDO, which will take a look behind the scenes at the Giro d'Italia. You can find our trailer and all the details here.
Meanwhile, we're hearing from our man on the ground Stephen Farrand that at least three riders are set to be punished for drafting. Fabio Aru could well be one of them.
Meanwhile, we're hearing from our man on the ground Stephen Farrand that some are set to be punished for drafting. Fabio Aru could well be one of them.
Punishments have been dished out. Fabio Aru gets 20 seconds taken from his time. His teammate Diego Ulissi has two minutes scrubbed off his and Mads Pedersen has 30 seconds taken from his. We're looking through the results as fast as we can to see if there are any more.
Another UAE Team Emirates rider, Valerio Conti got two minutes. He started just ahead of Ulissi in the running order. The pair obviously did their best to help each other out on course. Remi Cavanga cone 30 seconds docked, as did Ben Hermans.
Here is the full story on the riders that were punished for drafting today, including Fabio Aru.
You can find more details on Aru's time penalty here.
Side note, you can pre-order our next film on Vimeo. It's called CRESCENDO, and we're going to focus on the final week of the Giro, with more behind the scenes tales from the race. It's out on June 1 but you can pick it up at our special pre-order price now.
Thanks for joining us today for live coverage. We'll be back tomorrow for stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia.
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