Giro d'Italia stage 10 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia, which runs 177km from Lanciano to Tortoreto.

The big news before today's start are the withdrawals of Mitchelton-Scott, Michael Matthews and Steven Kruijswijk. Both riders and four members of the Australian squad returned positive COVID-19 tests and won't continue the race.

Read the full story here.

Jumbo-Visma have also confirmed their withdrawal from the race.

Jumbo-Visma pull out of Giro d'Italia to protect riders and staff after COVID-19 outbreak

Team leader Kruijswijk tested positive on the rest day

The GC field looked weak at the start of the race, and since then we've lost Geraint Thomas, Simon Yates and Steven Kruijswijk.

Vincenzo Nibali, Rafał Majka and Ilnur Zakarin are the only remaining riders to have stepped on a Grand Tour podium...

It could be a day for what few GC contenders remain to try a move, with a series of short, sharp climbs coming in the final 40 kilometres. In the meantime, the 146 riders left in the peloton have rolled out of Lanciano.

EF's Lawson Craddock is another non-starter so that's 145 riders left in the race.

In 9 of the past 10 editions of the Giro, more riders reached the finish than are left in this year's race right now. Last year 142 made it to Milan.

Attacks have flown at the start of the stage, with Peter Sagan among them.

Luca Chirico (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Nathan Haas, Marco Mathis (Cofidis), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) made it away but were brought back by the peloton.

160km to go

Sagan's attempt is brought back by the peloton too.

Anothhere small group clips away.

147km to go

Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Simon Clark (EF Pro Cycling), Marco Mathis (Cofidis) Simone Ravanelli (Androni Giocattoli-SIdermec) and Matthias Brandle (Israel Start-Up Nation) are away, 25 seconds up on the peloton. Five more riders chasing.

Elia Viviani (Cofidis) has commented on the situation today.

"It’s a very difficult moment for the whole world. We’ve just got to stay in the bubble. It’s not nice for us or for the fans but if we want to get to Milan, it's so what we’ve got to do. That means staying in the hotel on the resort and not seeing family and friends. 

"Obviously when there are positives cases in the peloton, there’s a higher risk of catching the virus but I don;t think it’s that simple. We're really sorry that a team like Mitchelton-Scott had these problems and that one of the teams fighting or overall victory like Jumbo-Visma with Kruijswijk won't start. 

"We can only hope things are resolved as soon as possible and that cycling can get back to normal in 2021."

Andrea Vendrame (AG2R La Mondiale), Josef Cerny (CCC Team), Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Jhonathan Restrepo (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) chase.

140km to go

The break starts climbing to Chieti now. 45 seconds from them to the peloton.

More riders are trying to get away from the peloton on the climb. Not much control at the front.

Matteo Fabbro (Bora-Hansgrohe) makes a move.

He's brought back as more riders try to move away. The break isn't far ahead, just 20 seconds.

Sagan is up front now. He's part of a large group off the front. 10 seconds to the peloton.

Ineos men Filippo Ganna and Tao Geoghegan Hart are up there, as is KOM leader Ruben Guerreiro.

130km to go

Ganna and Sagan off the front now, as the rest of the group are reabsorbed by the peloton on the fourth-category climb in Chieti.

Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama-FDJ) chases Sagan and Ganna as they cross the top of the climb.

122km to go

Swift, Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Dario Cataldo (Movistar) are among a chase group which has made it up to Sagan and Ganna. 40 seconds back to the peloton.

Here's the makeup of the break: Jhonathan Restrepo (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama-FDJ), Filippo Ganna, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Victor de la Parte, Attila Valter (CCC Team), Simon Clarke (EF Pro Cycling), Dario Cataldo, Davide Villella (Movistar), Stéphane Rossetto, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

Five riders chase. Only 40 seconds to the peloton.

Groupama-FDJ lead the peloton.

113km to go

Groupama-FDJ are closing in – the gap is down to 20 seconds now.

35 seconds to the break now, with the chase group just caught.

Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers):

"Our staff member is feeling okay and has been isolated in a room and we’ve all done more tests. 

"The bubble works and the number of cases in races is very low. Unfortunately the virus is very contagious, so it’s very difficult to understand. 
There’s a bubble but we’re sometimes mixing with other people. We have to keep respecting social distancing, wear masks and try to keep going."

The riders pass through Spoltore, home of 2007 Giro winner Danilo Di Luca.

Points classification leader Arnaud Démare works on the front to try and bring Sagan's breakaway back. The gap is 40 seconds.

100km to go

Démare has five teammates working with him. A few seconds shaved off.

The gap is down to 20 seconds now. 30km to go until the intermediate sprint.

Ramon Sinkeldam (Groupama-FDJ) has abandoned the race, apparently suffering from an unspecified illness.

Ciccone and Edet drop back from the breakaway. 27 seconds now.

Rossetto is also caught, so no more men for Cofidis left in the break.

Only Sagan, Ganna, Swift, Clarke, Restrepo, Villella and Cataldo remain out front. Groupama-FDJ continue to work.

89km to go

35 seconds between the peloton and break now. It's going back up again.

Démare and his four teammates have given up the ghost. They've sat up to let the break go.

Démare will have the points jersey tonight, no matter what happens today. Sagan can pick up a maximum of 52 points on the stage while he currently lies 57 points back.

There'll be plenty of chances for the Frenchman to build up a lead again with a possible trio of chances to win coming up before the weekend in Rimini, Cesenatico and Monselice.

80km to go

3:45 is the gap between the break and the peloton now. 

UAE Team Emirates take to the front of the peloton. 4:45 to the breakaway.

The Cyclingnews Podcast – The road ahead for Mark Cavendish, Gent-Wevelgem, and Giro d'Italia highlights. Featuring Mads Pedersen, Alex Dowsett and Jack Haig

70km to go

3km to the intermediate sprint. 4:45 is the gap.

12 points for Sagan at the sprint ahead of Restrepo and Ganna.

UAE lead the way across the sprint. One point up for grabs there.

Groupama-FDJ have confirmed that Sinkeldam left the race due to 'general fatigue'.

60km to go

The break have reached the next climb of the day, Tortoreto (2.3km at 8.3 per cent).

Ineos, Astana, NTT and Sunweb are at the front of the peloton on the run-in to the climb.

Clarke jumps off the front near the top of the climb. He rolls through ahead of Ganna to take the points.

Four minutes back to the peloton.

50km to go

The riders are in a flat section between the climbs. 3:45 between the UAE-controlled peloton and the break.

A look at the next climb of the day at Colonnella. 1.5km to go to the start.

The seven men up front continue to work together well.

The time gap is down to 2:40 as the break hits the climb of Colonnella.

NTT and Deceuninck-QuickStep lead the peloton.

Cataldo attacks the break. He's from Lanciano, where today's stage started.

Swift is with Cataldo. Villella, Restrepo and Sagan are next on the road. It's a struggle up these steep slopes.

Sagan, Villella and Restrepo are back up front. Clarke and Ganna are off the back.

Today's break out on the road.

39km to go

Cataldo jumps away as the group closes in on the top. He takes the points ahead of Sagan. Five back together up front.

NTT lead the peloton over the top, 2:05 down on the break. They're working for climber, the flea from Policoro, Domenico Pozzovivo.

Ganna and Clarke are 30 seconds down on the leaders.

Another climb now, only this one is to the intermediate sprint. It's 900 metres at 9.7 per cent with a maximum of 24 per cent...

3, 2 and 1 bonus seconds available at the top, not that it matters much for the breakaway.

They're just 1:20 up on the peloton now. Will Pozzovivo try something?

Ganna has dropped Clarke now and he's trying to bridge back to the front. 17 seconds gap.

Ben O'Connor is still driving on the front of the peloton with Pozzovivo behind him. They peloton begins the climb/run-in to the sprint.

30km to go

Ganna makes it back and immediately tries an attack as they head downhill. The other five make it back quickly, though.

Just over a minute to the peloton.

25km to go

The break are 3km from the next climb of the day, the uncategorised Colle Luna (2.4km at 4 per cent).

The rain is falling now. Miserable conditions. Clarke is 15 seconds down on the leaders.

35 seconds between peloton and breakaway now. NTT's work at the front has really helped Démare out here.

Clarke is back in the peloton now. It's not a full group by any means, having been whittled down by the climbing.

22km to go

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren) has jumped at the front of the peloton. Astana move to the front.

Pozzovivo has a mechanical problem! Disaster...

Unbelievable. Horrible luck after all that work. Bilbao pushes on just off the front of the peloton on the descent off that climb.

Meanwhile, the break are attacking each other. Cataldo gets back on.

Now they reach the penultimate climb of the day, another unclassified hill. This one is 1.8km at 7.9 per cent.

Bilbao hangs a few seconds ahead of the peloton.

20km to go

Sagan and Swift push on up front. The Movistar men and Ganna drop.

Pozzovivo is chasing alone up the climb now. O'Connor had helped him along earlier.

Bilbao has made it across to those dropped from the break. Only 40 seconds between Sagan-Swift and the peloton, though.

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) jumps away at the front of the peloton. Pink jersey João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) is up front with a few teammates.

18km to go

Pozzovivo gets back on. Maybe 25 riders in the peloton now.

40 seconds to the leaders as Bilbao has around 25 seconds.

Here's the final climb of the day. A short descent and the lead duo will start it.

Deceuninck-QuickStep still lead the peloton, 35 seconds down.

15km to go

Bilbao and Villella continue to chase the leaders. Sunweb move up in the peloton.

12km to go

Bilbao makes it across to Swift and Sagan. 30 seconds back to the peloton as some attacks go.

Sagan drops Swift on the climb! Bilbao rides past the British champion.

Meanwhile, Almida has attacked the peloton!

Almeida, Kelderman, Pozzovivo, Majka up front as Nibali closes a small gap.

Pozzovivo attack! Nice to see after his mechanical.

11km to go

Sagan goes over the top 13 seconds up on Bilbao and 22 up on the peloton.

It looks like all the big names are still up there – Pozzovivo, Almeida, Kelderman, Majka, Fuglsang, Nibali...

9km to go

Puncture for Fuglsang on the descent! He drops back from the GC group but gets a bike swap from a teammate.

Fuglsang is 35 seconds down! Terrible luck for him.

15 seconds between Sagan and Bilbao. 25 back to the main group.

7km to go

Geoghegan Hart tries a move on the flat but is brought back. 40 seconds back to Fuglsang now. The GC men are 10 seconds down on Bilbao.

Bilbao is caught after his foray off the front. A good effort but he didn't quite get up to Sagan before the Slovak made his move.

5km to go

It's just Sagan out on his own now. 25 seconds his advantage. Fuglsang is still chasing behind.

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) has a go off the front of the GC group.

1km to go

Sagan reaches the final kilometre 21 seconds up on the GC group.

A solo win for Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)! His first win of 2020.

McNulty crosses the line 15 seconds down while Almeida leads the GC group across the line to grab four bonus seconds and extend his overall lead.

More points for Sagan, too. He's 20 points down on Démare now.

Fuglsang finished at around 1:35 down. He's lost over a minute to his GC rivals.

Here's Sagan crossing the line.

Fuglsang has fallen from sixth to 11th and lies 2:20 down on Almeida after his puncture today. Ilnur Zakarin (CCC Team) also lost time, finishing 27 seconds down on the GC group. He's 12th overall at 2:27.

Sagan is the 100th rider to win a stage at each Grand Tour. It's his first Giro stage victory to go along with his 12 at the Tour de France and four at the Vuelta a España.

Here's what Sagan had to say after the finish:

"I'm very happy, finally – I've been trying since when we started the season again with Strade Bianche, San Remo, the Tour de France – I was a lot of time on the podium or top five but my last victory was last year in the Tour de France, already a long time ago.

"For sure I did not have the plan [to go solo]. When I already accepted second, third, fourth place, and I let it go and I don't try anymore – and now the victory comes. I'm very happy for that

"Finally I won in my style, I do the race, do some show, take the victory it's something special."

And here's pink jersey João Almeida...

"We had the rest day yesterday. I really felt recovered. I knew I had good legs today so at least I could follow the other guys. in the end it went really good and tomorrow is another day."

Read our stage 10 report here, complete with a photo gallery and results.

Peter Sagan celebrates his first win in over a year on the podium.

Mauro Vegni: We absolutely want the Giro d'Italia to make it to Milan

'The tests show the situation today, it doesn't guarantee that the virus won’t explode' says race director

Jakob Fuglsang was today's big loser thanks to a puncture. Here's what he had to say after the finish...

"Not the day we thought it would be. It was just an unlucky day for us.

"I had a puncture in the worst moment you can have one. I gave my all and tried to limit any huge time gaps but it is how it is.

"We have to get over it and focus on the upcoming days. There's still a long way to go and still plenty of chances."

João Almeida happy to spend another day in pink.

Van Emden: The UCI should get the bill for Giro d'Italia COVID-19 positives

Dutch rider blames UCI for allowing RCS to pack teams into Sicily hotels with the public

Our full stage 10 report is up here.

Sunweb say they are 'following the rules' by staying in Giro d'Italia despite confirmed COVID-19 case

Matthews left race but Sunweb continue to chase maglia rosa with Kelderman

2020 Giro d'Italia stage 10 highlights - Video

Watch as Peter Sagan claims his first Giro stage win

Coronavirus makes Giro d'Italia a race with no tomorrow

Inside the day of hazy doubts about corsa rosa’s future sharpened into focus

Contrasting outcomes for Pozzovivo and Fuglsang after Giro d'Italia mechanicals

Italian on the offensive as Fuglsang rues luck on stage 10 in Abruzzo