Giro d'Italia stage 20 LIVE: Jonas Vingegaard seeks to seal Maglia Rosa on final mountain test
A double ascent of Piancavallo provides the final test for the GC contenders
Warbasse, Tarozzi and Livyns are the three chasers.
The peloton is already slowing down. If there's not a response soon, this could be the break.
Those five riders: Haig, Leknessnd, Silva, Geens and Huens.
Another group of five is ahead of that trio, and lead the race.
The other rider in this trio is from Alpecin.
Three men do have a few seconds - a rider from Netcompany, Astana and another.
Here was what Giulio Ciccone had to say about that fallout yesterday between himself and Einer Rubio.
Milan's animated too, annoyed with Movistar's Garcia Cortina - it doesn't feel like a coincidence that it's the same two teams, Movistar and Lidl-Trek that had beef yesterday in the breakaway.
Lidl are very eager to get up the road, with Milan especially lively. He's riding at the front now trying to get away.
This was when the peloton pased to pay repects to the victims of the earthquake that devastated this region fifty years ago.
They're both brought back.
Gualdi has a gap, and this Giro's eternal runner-up Leknessund has joined him.
It's another hot day at the Giro, with a cloudless sky greeting the riders.
There are still fifteen teams without a stage win at this race. With tomorrow likely to end in a sprint, this really is the last chance for many riders, and many teams, to put that right - so brace yourself for what might be the most desperate battle to get into the day's break.
The riders have paused briefly at the neutralised one by a cemetery, to pay their respects to those who passed away in an earthquake here fifty years ago.
This is also set to be a very long stage, in excess of 200km, and so the riders legs will already be considerably sapped of strength even before they reach the final climbs.
Though the Piancavallo is a proper, category one mountain, to get there the riders must first take on about 130km of almost completely flat road. That could make this an unusual start to the stage, with a very different set of riders best equipped to get into the break different that those best equipped to win the stage.
The riders have just rolled out from the unofficial start.
The Giro d'Italia women also gets underway today, with a stellar line-up of some of the very best in the world. Have a read of our analysis of the contenders.
Jonas Vingegaard, with few obstacles left in his way to winning the Maglia Rosa.
The riders might be desperate for a rest after yesterday’s unforgiving mountains test, but they’re not going to get one today. They have to climb the horrible Piancavallo not once but twice, and the amount of fatigue accumulated by now will make it even harder.
Giro d'Italia: Sepp Kuss triumphant on queen stage as Jonas Vingegaard lives up to promise
After three weeks of racing this year’s Giro d’Italia is reaching its climax. With tomorrow’s flat stage in Rome a ceremonial affair, today marks the last chance for any changes in the GC.
Buongiorno and welcome to stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia!
