Giro d'Italia stage 8 - Live coverage

Hello and welcome to live coverage of stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia from Giovinazzo to Vieste. 

Before we go any further, there has been some big news this morning. Simon Yates has been forced to pull out of the Giro d'Italia after testing positive for Covid-19. The Mitchelton-Scott rider started feeling coronavirus symptoms after yesterday's stage and was tested immediately. Read the full story here.

Yates' departure won't affect the top 10 overall after he lost time in the earlier in the race. He was sitting down in 21st overall at 3:52 behind the maglia rosa Joao Almeida. Nevertheless, it will be disappointing for him and we wish him well in his recovery. 

This is how things look in the overall classification before the riders set off in just over half an hour. 

1 Joao Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-Quickstep 24:48:29

2 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:43

3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:48

4 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:59

5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:01

6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 0:01:05

7 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:19

8 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:21

9 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:26

10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:32

Today's stage is unlikely to trouble the overall contenders, with one second category climb and a fourth category climb. Depending on how the peloton feels, it could be an opportunity for the breakaway. With the undulating finale, riders such as Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews could also be in with a shout for the win.

Filippo Ganna is the current wearer of the mountains jersey, the maglia azzura, but his lead is slim. Jonathan Caicedo is just one point behind him. Will we see either Ganna or Caicedo, or maybe both, going in the breakaway today?

1 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 41

2 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Pro Cycling 40

3 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 19

4 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Vini Zabu' KTM 18

5 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 18

6 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Vini Zabu' KTM 18

7 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 15

8 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 12

9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 11

10 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 9

Away from the Giro d'Italia, another big bit of news that has come in over the last 24 hours is the cancellation of Paris-Roubaix. The organisers had to call it off due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the region. The 25 October was also meant to see the first ever women's Paris-Roubaix. Read the full story here.

About 15 minutes until the neutral start in Giovinazzo. Almost all of today's stage heads along Italy's adriatic coast, which means that the wind could play a factor at times. Teams will have to keep their wits about them so as not to be caught out. 

Arnaud Demare has had a sterling Giro d'Italia so far with three stage wins and the points jersey on his back. He's beaten Peter Sagan on two of those ocassions and said yesterday that he believes the Slovakian's focus on the classics may have robbed him of some of his explosivity int he sprint. Read what Demare had to say here.

Given his form and performances earlier in the year, it's not out of the realms of possibility that Demare could take another win here. He would have to battle hard to keep within touching distance of the leading group and there's no doubt his rivals will be doing their best to get rid of him on the tougher sections of today's route. It's not impossible, though. 

The neutral start has been taken and the riders are on their way to the start proper, which should take around 10 minutes. 

There were a number of crashes yeaterday which resulted in several injuries and forced a number of riders to stop the race altogether. Tony Gallopin was one of the worst impacted by the crash after he broke his wrist. EF Pro Cycling's Sean Bennett also broke his wrist and did not start today. Meanwhile, Eduardo Affini fractured his finger in an incident. Read a round-up of yesterday's walking wounded here. 

Israel Start-Up Nation rider Alex Dowsett told the Giro website that he believes today will be an opportunity for the breakaway. 

"A team has to actively want that breakaway to come back and be driven into putting in the work, and its’ 200k, there’s a big climb in the middle, and sort of looking at what team’s gonna want to do that, may be Matthew s with Sunweb, but they’ve got Kelderman in the GC, so dunno if they’re going to want to spend the enrgy, so it could be a good day for the breakaway.”

I meantioned a few of today's DNSs but here is a definitive list of non starters. All except Yates, who has Covid-19, were caught up in a crash yesterday. Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale), Patrick Gamper (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sean Bennett (EF Pr Cycling), Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Edoardo Affini (Mitchelton-Scott).

It has been a very quick start today with plenty of riders keen to get into the breakaway. Nothing has stuck yet and it is gruppo compatto for now. 

The 2020 season has been a very unusual year for everyone and just to add to the oddness, the Vuelta and the Giro are due to clash. Team Ineos has suffered injury and misfortune at the opening two Grand Tours of the year and the Vuelta will be their last roll of the dice for an overall win. Chris Froome and Richard Carapaz are due to lead the line for the British squad, but who will join them. Read here to find out more.

The attacks still coming thick and fast and we now have a six-man group off the front. Can they make it stick?

The quick answer to that is no. The six got 15 seconds before behind reeled back in. 

Another attempt up the road: Simone Ravanelli (Androni), Joey Rosskopf (CCC), Mathias Brandle (Israel Start-Up Nation), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers). They have 28 seconds on the bunch as things stand. 

167km to go

The group made it clear after 22km of racing. They're not being allowed much space by the peloton just yet. 

And there we have it, the elastic has snapped and the six men up the road now have an advantage of 3:15 just like that, as Tommy Cooper would say. 

There are some pretty strong riders in that six-man breakaway, which now has over four minutes on the peloton. With some well accomplished time trialists in the group, they definitely have the power to hold off the peloton. 

Alex Dowsett is the only rider in this breakaway to have won an individual stage of the Giro d'Italia. The Essex rider took victory in the time trial at the 2013 race, beating Bradley Wiggins by 10 seconds. 

Salvatore Puccio has not won an individual stage but he did take victory with Team Sky in the team time trial, also in 2013. That win also gave him a day in the maglia rosa. 

142.5km to go

Deceuninck-QuickStep is managing the pace in the bunch and is happy for the breakaway to go up the road. The gap is now 7:14 for the six men up front. 

At 34:34 behind Joao Almeida, Salvatore Puccio is the best placed rider overall in this breakaway. Deceuninck-QuickStep has no real urgency to keep the escapees too close and they're riding at a fairly relaxed pace at the moment. 

If you missed the big news earlier today, a reminder that Simon Yates did not take the start this morning. The Mitchelton-Scott rider developed symptoms of Covid-19 yesterday evening and subsequently tested positive for the virus. The remainder of the Mitchelton-Scott team were tested and returned a negative result and have therefore continued the race. Read the full story here.

127.8km to go

The escapees are continuing to make ground on the peloton as we fast approach the main climb of the day. <eanwhile, Keisse continues to control the bunch with a string of Bahrain-Merida riders behind him. The gap is now a hefty 8:46.

Race director Mauro Vegni spoke to Eurosport about Simon Yates positive Covid-19 test. This is what he had to say. 

"Nobody can consider themselves safe from this problem, nobody is immune from coronavirus. It’s crucial to have tests and to be able to get results quickly and that can prevent spreading the virus. It’s good that we have that screening capability at the Giro d’Italia. It’s shame because we have lost another of the favourites, one of the main protagonists, and I’m upset about that. 

"We will have all of the teams tested between tomorrow and Monday and we will have all of the results on the rest day. We actually tested all of the Mitchelton team last night and we got the results back this morning and they were all negative, apart from Simon Yates. That may have been an issue for a few days. As soon as we were asked to check on him, we tested him and he was positive. The most important thing is to test all of the riders and avoid spreading the virus to other people."

It's interesting to see that Deceuninck-QuickStep has had just the one rider at the head of the peloton for most of the day, Iljo Keisse. The maglia rosa is sitting much further back in the bunch, somewhere between 20-30th position. Bahrain-Merida, who have Pello Bilbao in second place overall, have had the whole team at the fore. 

It's almost like they can hear what I'm typing as I type it. Joao Almeida has been moved up to near the front at third wheel and now has five riders with him. The bunch is approaching the intermediate sprint and the first climb of the day. 

111.9km to go

The breakaway is still building time and they're going to need all they can get if the peloton suddenly decides it wants to bring them back. For now, they have 9:28 on the bunch behind. 

No contest for the intermediate sprint in the breakaway today. They're not interested in anything like that right now, they want to get as much time as they can on the peloton and put themselves into the position to take the stage victory. 

A reminder of the six riders that made it into the breakaway earlier today: Simone Ravanelli (Androni), Joey Rosskopf (CCC), Mathias Brandle (Israel Start-Up Nation), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers). They made it clear after about 22km of fast and furious racing. 

Groupama-FDJ takes up the front as the peloton reaches the intermediate sprint. Peter Sagan tries to follow Arnaud Demare but the Frenchman easily takes the one remaining point available.

The leaders are already onto the main climb of the day, the second category Monte Sant' Angelo. It is a 9.6km ascent with an average gradient of 6.1%. 

Alex Dowsett looks pretty relaxed on this climb so far. He was busy having a chat with Salvatore Puccio. The pair were teammates at Team Sky in 2012. 

Peter Sagan is towards the back of the bunch on this climb but he doesn't look too concerned. He'll be happy to make his own pace up and not burn too many matches ahead of a potential sprint at the end of the day. 

There was a little bit of wind earlier today but it seems pretty still at the moment. There definitely aren't the gusts that caused the peloton to break up yesterday. The breakaway is ticking along nicely and they now have 10:22 over the bunch. 

Louis Meintjes has moved up towards the front for NTT Pro Cycling. In previous years, he may have been here for his own chances but he's riding to protect Domenico Pozzovivo. The Italian has had a very good Giro d'Italia so far and is sixth overall at the moment at 1:05 behind the pink jersey. 

Rudy Barbier has been distanced by the peloton. Israel Start-Up Nation getting two riders into the breakaway seems an even wiser decision at this stage. Barbier is the team's sprint challenger.

Matthew Holmes leads the breakaway through the KOM point. There was no real challenge for the points as the leaders continue to work together nicely. 

Puccio and Dowsett have pulled out a small gap over the rest of the leaders on this fast descent. It looks like it was caused by Holmes taking a few of the corners quite gingerly. 

There has been a crash in the peloton at the start of the descent. Fiorelli is one of them and there's an AG2R rider down and he looks like he's in a lot of pain. 

A bizzare crash really. It looks like the AG2R La Mondiale rider's bike went from under him and he came down quite hard. May have hit a hole in the road but it was nothing obvious. 

It has not been a great few days for AG2R, who lost Tony Gallopin to a broken wrist yesterday. 

It has been reported that it is Ben Gastauer that came down hard in that crash. We'll have to wait and see what the team says on his condition but it looks like he may well be out of the race. 

A mechanical issue for Jakob Fuglsang on the descent. He's got a couple of teammates waiting up for him to help him back to the bunch. 

79km to go

The leaders have lost a little bit of time on the bunch on this descent and the gap is down to around 9:00.

Felline is with Fuglsang, who is now more than a minute behind the main bunch. 

A lot of horns blaring in the caravan as there are quite a few riders trying to pick their way up to the bunch. I can't be the only one who holds their breath when they see riders get close to cars on fast descents like these. 

The leaders are almost at the bottom of the descent now. Their lead has been cut to 8:39 as the peloton charges down behind them. Fuglsang is coming up to another dropped froup but he's still over a minute behind the maglia rosa group. 

It is Trek-Segafredo leading the peloton down the descent. They're possibly spurred on by the misfortune of Fuglsang, but can they keep the Dane at bay?

The peloton has been blown apart by that descent. Demare is among those that has been dropped and is chasing back to the main bunch, which consists of about 40 riders. 

The Fuglsang group is now a mini peloton in itself as it tries to close the gap. Fuglsang has taken back a few seconds but he's still about 50 seconds back on the maglia rosa group. The Demare group is somewhere in the middle of all of that.

68.6km to go

An overhead shot shows that Sagan is in the Fuglsang group. Interestingly, the maglia rosa group has now knocked off the pace and the peloton is slowly coming back together. 

This is extremely good news for the breakaway, of course. Their lead had dropped under eight minutes at one point but it is growing again and now sits at 8:19. 

After that commotion, it is gruppo compatto for the peloton at least. Fuglsang will be very relieved, as will Sagan. 

Riders being treated on both sides of the medical car. Fiorelli and Cataford both fell heavily on the descent and are in need of treatment from the doctor. Cataford has lost quite a lot of skin from his left arm. 

Several teams up at the front of the peloton, which has resumed a slightly more sedate pace. There is just one more categorised climb to come today but there is a lot of rolling terrain where the peloton and the breakaway could break up. 

60.4km to go

The advantage of the six leaders has gone back up above nine minutes and it's looking like it's a dead cert for the breakaway to take the win today. The peloton doesn't seem overly interested in chasing. 

Another crash in the peloton and there are three riders down. One of them is Brambilla. He's smiling, so he seems ok. 

Carboni for Bardiani also came down in that and he's missing his helmet. There seems to be concern about whether or not he hit his head in the crash. 

The medics appear happy with Carboni's condition and he's back on his bike. Barmbilla is also back up and running after getting a new helmet and a new bike. He gives a non-convincing thumbs up to the camera. 

Brambilla is unlikely to be in too much of a rush with the pace that is being set at the moment. He is speaking with the medical car as he rides back to the bunch. 

As things calm down in Italy for a moment, my I take the time to tell you that the women's cross-country race at the World MTB Championships has recently finished. I won't spoil the result for you but you can find the results here. 

Keisse is the man on the front of the peloton again. I'd like to know just how many kilometres he has sat on the front today, because it has been the vast majority of the stage. 

53km to go

The breakaway is still working together quite nicely, but they're going to start thinking about how they can break their companions to take the win. With two riders up there, Israel Start-Up Nation has the advantage. The gap is currently 10:12 over the bunch. 

50.9km to go

There's another decent unclassified rise about to come before the last classified climb of the day at La Guardiola. The six leaders now have 10:25 on the peloton, which is currently stocking up on some snacks before the finale. 

Dowsett pinches the points from Holmes at the top of the fourth category climb. It looked like Holmes might grab the top points again but Dowsett came up by the barriers to grab it at the last. 

40.2km to go

There has been a real lull in the action at the moment and the six escapees have been allowed to extend their advantage to 10:42 over the peloton behind. 

There is a lot of experience in the breakaway but there are some who are breaking new ground. Simone Ravanelli is making his debut at a Grand Tour after he joined Androni this season. Matthew Holmes is also riding his first three-week race following his move to WorldTour racing at the start of this year with Lotto Soudal. 

I'd still wager that Israel Start-Up Nation are the favourites from the leading group of six to take the win. Not only do they have two riders in this group, they are both very strong time trialists that could hold off a chase. I wouldn't disregard Puccio in this finale, though. He is hugely experienced and is a very strong rider. 

A quick trip back to the car for Peter Sagan to collect some sun glasses. There's no rush from the Slovakian and he'll easily be able to get back up to the peloton. 

33.1km to go

A mechanical problem for Ravanelli and he pulls over to the side of the road to pick up a new bike from the team car. He is now back with the other escapees. 

The kilometres to go keeps ticking down but none of the breakaway seems ready to make an attack just yet. How long will they wait before someone finally blinks?

No sooner do I speak, Dowsett has attacked with 30km to go

Puccio takes the bait and closes Dowsett down. Ravanelli is now trying to bring the rest of the break back. 

It's all back together up front. 

26.8km to go

It is now back to the status quo for the breakaway after that initial attack from Dowsett. I'm surprised that Israel Start-Up Nation haven't tried to maintain the momentum. 

Who will be the next rider to have a punt? The riders are now into Vieste and the finishing loop. 

Rosskopf puts in a dig on a small rise in the town and Holmes is quick to get on his wheel. The attack does little damage. 

Now Puccio attacks and Holmes is on his wheel. Brandle has been dropped. 

Puccio and Holmes have a small gap at the front, Rosskopf is chasing behind and Dowsett and Ravanelli are a little bit further behind him. 

23.9km to go

Rosskopf has got back to Puccio and Holmes to make it three up front. Ravanelli and Dowsett are still chasing behind. 

Brandle is now back with Dowsett and Ravanelli. They're 16 seconds behind the trio at the front. 

The leaders are onto a slightly flatter section but the riders will have to contest that steep section again where it all broke up a short while ago. The gap between the two leading groups is down to 13 seconds. 

Dowsett, Brandle and Ravanelli are closing the gap slowly but surely. Meanwhile, Rosskopf looks to be struggling to keep up with Holmes and Puccio.

19.6km to go

The chasers can see the leaders up the road, which always helps when you're trying to bring someone back. It gives you a visual aid to lock onto. The gap is just seven seconds now. 

This looks like it's going to come back together any moment now. 

Israel Start-Up Nation will need to try something different on the next go around so that they're not having to chase back before the finish line. 

The leading groups are back together and Brandle puts in a dig. Meanwhile, the peloton is onto the finishing circuit. 

Brandle is caught and now Dowsett attacks. Nobody seems keen to chase him just yet. 

17.1km to go

They'll be aware that Dowsett will lose time on the climb, but he now has 15 seconds on the group behind. 

Rosskopf launches a counter attack and Puccio follows. Dowsett has 16 seconds now.

Dowsett is gaining a small amount of time as he makes his way along the seafront. He needs to use all of his time trial talents to build up a sufficient enough advantage before that steep climb again. 

Dowsett crosses the finish line for the first time and he has 26 seconds on the chasers, but is it enough? 

13.5km to go

Dowsett's lead is now 33 seconds as he approaches this steep climb. He will need to go all out on this to avoid losing too much time. 

40 seconds for Dowsett now. The chasers need to organise soon or it could be too little too late. 

10.9km to go

Onto the climb now and Dowsett has 43 seconds

Over 50 seconds for Dowsett now. This is looking more and more likely for the British rider. 

Holmes leads the chasers onto the climb before Puccio puts in a dig. Do they have too much time to make up?

10.3km to go

The gap is coming down to Dowsett. He has 32 seconds on Holmes and Puccio, who have distanced the other chasers. 

Rosskopf is a few bike lengths behind Puccio and Holmes, who are 27 seconds behind Dowsett after cresting the top of the climb. 

Rosskopf has caught Puccio and Holmes to make a three-man chasing group. Dowsett's gap is growing out again and he has 26 seconds. 

7.6km to go

Dowsett is really giving it his all on the descent off this climb. The three riders behind him are working well together but they're up against a strong time trialist. 

Dowsett's lead is back up to over 30 seconds and it is still growing. It looks like he might just do this, he just needs to stay on his bike. 

Holmes launches a dig off the chasing group but he can't distance his companions. 

Meanwhile, back in the peloton it almost looks as if they're riding a neutral section. We can worry about what they're doing once the stage victory has been decided. 

3.9km to go

Dowsett's lead goes out to 38 seconds. 

The trio behind aren't giving up just yet, they're still chasing but it looks as if the go has gone out of it as Dowsett's lead continues to expand. 

Under the 3km to go banner, the gap is now 42 seconds. 

2.4km to go

Dowsett is having to use everything he has to keep this attack going. He's grimmacing but he's not slowing down. 

Oh dear, there appears to be a dog on the course but it's not clear where it is. Hopefully, the organisers can get it off the course before anything happens. 

Flamme rouge for Dowsett and he has 45 seconds.

Dowsett looks behind him and he knows he's won. Provided the dog doesn't take him out. 

Dowsett wins stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia.

We have a track sprint for second and third now

Puccio finishes second just ahead of Holmes and Rosskopf takes fourth. 

Thankfully, it seems the dog has finally been retrieved from the finish area before the peloton comes through. 

We now have a little while to wait for the peloton to come through to the finish line. The stage win is sorted so there's no urgency in the pack. 

A mechanical problem for Koen Bouwman and he has to wait for the team car.

3km to go now for the peloton. We might get a little sprint to the line for the points jersey classification but it's all piano right now. 

Joao Almeida is sitting in third wheel in the peloton, trying to keep out of trouble as the riders get into the final kilometre. 

Matthews wins the sprint from the bunch, beating Gaviria and Viviani. 

Mathias Bandle spoke to Eurosport at the finish line: 

"I think it was a really well-deserved victory for Alex. He still doesn’t have a contract for next year so this will for sure help him. I’m really happy for him and he also showed today on the first lap when we were both dropped we worked together and came back and said that I would attack and then he would attack and the other one would control the other guys.

"He chose the perfect moment and he was really strong afterwards and he had a nice gap on the climb. I knew that if he had a good gap on the top then he could time trial to the line."

Confirmation of the stage top 10 and the overall standings.

1 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation 4:50:09
2 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:15
3 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
4 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team
5 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:02:10
6 Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:02:13
7 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:13:56
8 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
9 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
10 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale

General classification after stage 8
1 Joao Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-Quickstep 29:52:34
2 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:43
3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:48
4 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:59
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:01
6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 0:01:05
7 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:19
8 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:21
9 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:26
10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:32

Words from today's winner Alex Dowsett.

"It was such a tough year with all of the uncertainty and trying to work out how I’m going to get to next year and still be racing and still be doing what I love and still being able to put food on the table for three of us come January. Hopefully, that will help. To win like that as well… As you get older you wonder when your last win might be, so you learn to savour it and enjoy it.

"There were some strong guys in the break and the only unknown for us was the fella from Androni. Niki Sorensen on the radio was telling us how good each rider was over the radio. We knew we had our work cut out but with Matthias and myself in the breakaway we knew we could use each other. The last time I was in the breakaway with Mathias, he won the stage at the Tour of Britain and I went into the yellow jersey. Only good things happen when I am in a break with Mathias.

"It will be a relief for the team to get the win under the best. The team can end this year pretty content with how things have gone."

For a recap of today's stage, results and pictures, then head over to our report.

Away from the Giro d'Italia, another rider has returned a positive Covid-19 test. Jan Bakelandts had been due to ride Gent-Wevelgem tomorrow but now his season is over due to catching the virus. Read more about it here.