Giro d'Italia Women stage 7 LIVE: Can the sprinters survive a final climb, or will the breakaway be allowed their glory?
From Sorbolo Mezzani to Salice Terme, at 159km another long day in the saddle, is a wide-open race for the taking
140km to go
Pegolo, Van't Geloof, Jackson, Luccon and Segato lead the race by 1.42, while Marinetto has been caught.
Marinetto was up the road a couple of times earlier in the race and her team have been among the most aggressive, though with little return.
Ilaria Marinetto (Mendelspeck E-Work) is the chaser.
Chantal Pegolo Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria), Marjolein Van't Geloof (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), Alison Jackson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93), Sara Luccon (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) and Gaia Segato (Vini Fantini-BePink) have more than a minute on the peloton, while another rider is dangling off the front of the bunch trying to get away.
We wait for a breakaway then two come along at the same time!
The top three finishers in yesterday's stage are all top-class track riders.
Those skills proved vital in the hectic sprint, Maggie Coles-Lyster and Georgia Baker completed the podium.
Even if there's a whisker o f a chance of a breakaway staying away for the win, as there is today, plenty of teams will be eager to get up the road. Hence the high speed.
We saw in the men's race recently, on days like today the battle for the break can go on a while.
The opening kilometres are being ridden at high speed, no doubt some are trying to get away and others aren't letting them go.
There'll be no Margaux Vigié for Visma-Lease a Bike today. She's a great all-rounder and a big loss for the team.
Heading south from Piacenza the route rises into the Ligurian Apennines, rising to the 3rd category ascent to Pietragavina. It's only 9km with an average gradient of 3.6km. From there it's 27km to the line in Salice Terme.
We're in the centre of northern Italy today, starting in Sorbolo Mezzani, just outside Parma, but the racing kicks off in Viadana. The route takes the peloton west, through Piacenza where the road begins to rise.
It's a long old stage with a long old neutral, 10.4km, but we're on our way. It's slightly cooler today, with highs around 25º, not much chance of rain and minimal wind. What wind there is from the north west, a cross headwind, so we could see action again.
There could be some cross winds again today, so keep an eye on UNO-X Mobility, they blew yesterday's race apart.
"We aimed to surprise everyone."
One rider hoping it'll be a bunch sprint is Canadian, Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health). She was second on stage 6 and will be desperate to go one better.
With huge time gaps on the general classification at the start of today's stage, and the possibility of a sprint open in question, the breakaway may get their chance today. But it's a complicated stage.
Can the sprinters survive the late climb?
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) is dominating the sprint stages at this Giro.
Yesterday was her fourth win after the "best lead out in the world."
With the race beginning to reach its climax, we have an interesting stage on the cards today. It's another long one, too, 159km rolling out at 12:40CET.
Good afternoon, we're back for another day of live coverage of the Giro d'Italia Women. This time it's stage 7.
