Giro d'Italia stage 9 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ninth stage of the Giro, which runs 208km from San Salvo to the summit finish at Roccaraso

It's an early one today – the stage is set to start in 20 minutes.

After several days for the sprint and breakaway, the attention turns back to the GC contenders today with the second summit finish of the race. Over 4,000 metres of vertical gain await the peloton as they head through Abruzzo from San Salvo to the ski resort at Roccaraso.

Yesterday Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) took an emotional victory from the breakaway. You can read the stage report here and our news story about the Briton and his uncertain future here.

Alasdair Fotheringham, one of our men on the ground in Italy, wrote a preview of today's stage, pointing out that time gaps likely won't be large without hard racing beforehand.

"If it's a hard day's racing beforehand and if it's raining, then anybody already suffering could pay an unexpectedly high price on the final ascent," he says of a stage which ends atop a mountain conquered by the likes of Coppi and Hinault.

Roccaraso a crunch Giro d'Italia mountain test for GC favourites

A couple of the stars of the Giro so far head to sign in today. Race leader João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and double stage winner Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), who also leads the mountain classification.

The former should be involved up front today but don't expect Ganna to be up there with the GC guys, despite his exploits on the mountainous stage 5.

It's a big day of racing today, with the mens' and women's Gent-Wevelgem also taking place, as well as Paris-Tours and the Superprestige cyclo-cross race in Gieten.

We'll have comprehensive coverage of the Giro and Gent-Wevelgem (including live coverage) and reports from Paris-Tour and the 'cross.

With Paris-Roubaix now sadly cancelled, it's something of a new 'Super Sunday'.

Meanwhile, back to Italy and the peloton has set off to start the stage.

Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation) is the only non-starter today. The Frenchman has been suffering from stomach problems.

Rain at the start in San Salvo.

Difficulties on today's stage include the Passo Lanciano (also known as Blockhaus), the race's seventh visit, the second-category Passo San Leonardo and Bosco di Sant'Antonio before the final climb up to Roccaraso (9.6km at 4.4 per cent) and a further kick to the line afterwards.

201km to go

After 7km of racing, the peloton is all together.

Blue jersey Filippo Ganna tried to make a move but he was brought back.

He's not the only man trying to get away, of course. Plenty of riders are attempting to instigate the break of the day but no luck so far.

Ganna is still trying. With four classified climbs on today's stage, there are 116 KOM points up for grabs, so his jersey will be under threat later on.

Find out how to watch the Giro d'Italia via television or live stream here.

178km to go

No riders have managed to break away just yet. The peloton is all together after 30km of racing.

Pavel Kochetkov (CCC Team) and Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis) have lost ground and are currently three minutes down on the peloton. It looks like they'll have a tough day ahead of them.

Still no breakaway after 36km of racing. The road doesn't really start going up for another 30km, so there might be a while of this.

167km to go

After 39km of racing, a group of four managed to get away. Luca Chirico (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Kilian Frankiny (Groupama-FDJ), Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dario Cataldo (Movistar).

However, they were brought back 2km later. The peloton is still all together now.

There's still no breakaway after 50km of racing. It has been a fast first hour or so along the flat roads early on the stage.

Vincenzo Nibali a familiar constant in a Giro d'Italia full of variables

Trek-Segafredo coach Slongo on Italian's build-up to an October Grand Tour

That was a first hour raced at 50.7kph. Still no breakaway, though.

A small group including past breakaway men Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) tried to get away but were brought back by Movistar.

The riders are approaching more rolling roads en route to the Passo Lanciano now. The town of Guardiagrele – of the brutally steep muro used in the 2014 Tirreno-Adriatico – is next up on the route. 

141km to go

Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) has attacked! A strange place for him to go? Maybe the organisation has got the wrong Trek number there.

He apparently got away with Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott), Davide Villella (Astana) and Jhonathan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) but the move was quickly neutralised.

More riders are on the move now. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling), Eduardo Sepulveda (Movistar), Ben O'Connor (NTT Pro Cycling) and Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) have 20 seconds on the peloton.

Movistar clearly want to do something today. They've been active on the front and have been throwing riders into various attacks.

133km to go

Guerreiro led O'Connor, Castroviejo and Sepulveda over the line at the intermediate sprint at Guardiagrele. Maglia ciclamino wearer Arnaud Démare led Peter Sagan across at the front of the peloton. Another point to add to his lead. 

That group looks like our break of the day. They're two minutes up on the peloton now. They're approaching the climb of the Passo Lanciano where surely we'll see some more riders attempt to get away on the lower slopes.

Larry Warbasse (AG2R La Mondiale), Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabù-Brado-KTM) and Kilian Frankiny (Groupama-FDJ) are chasing the leaders.

118km to go

Visconti, Frankiny and Warbasse have bridged across to the front group now.

The riders are climbing the Passo Lanciano now. More attacks from the peloton, including Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates).

5:45 for the breakaway now. It's the first time in the break for each of these men, bar Visconti. The Italian was in the break of the day on stage 3 to Mount Etna.

His team Vini Zabù-Brado-KTM have been in the break every day but yesterday so far. Marco Frapporti has been out three times, Etienne Van Empel once, and Edoardo Zardini once.

Incidentally, today is the first road stage that has seen Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec miss the break. The Italian squad have sent Mattia Bais, Jhonathan Restrepo, Josip Rumac, Simon Pellaud and Simone Ravanelli into moves on each day so far.

The other wildcard team, Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè, have been in the break three times with Alessandro Tonelli, Filippo Zana and Francesco Romano.

110km to go

6:45 for the break now. Bjerg trails by 2:30 after suffering a puncture while chasing.

Seven minutes for the break now as they close in on the top of the climb. Visconti will surely go for this – he's best-placed in the KOM classification at 18 points and there's 40 points up for grabs at the top.

And Visconti duly wins the sprint. He's the new mountain classification leader after beating Guerreiro and Castroviejo to the line.

102km to go

6:30 for the break as they descend towards the feed zone. Bjerg is in there somewhere, still chasing.

Trek-Segafredo lead the peloton with Jacopo Mosca, Giulio Ciccone and Vincenzo Nibali.

A look at the break of the day before Visconti, Frankiny and Warbasse made it across.

The gap has come down slightly on the descent to 5:50 as Deceuninck-QuickStep and Trek-Segafredo continue to lead the way.

89km to go

Bjerg has made it up to the break! That's a great ride to bridge the gap on the descent.

Feeding time for the riders now as the pass through the village of Scafa.

Jumbo-Visma are also working at the front of the peloton at the moment.

A nice arty shot of the peloton riding through a forest because why not..

82km to go

After three hours of racing, the average speed is 40.5kph. The situation is stable now as the break nears the top of an uncategorised 8.4km, 4.7 per cent climb.

There's a short descent after, before more climbing to the second-category climb of Passo San Leonardo (14.4km at 4.3 per cent) with 18-8-6-4-2-1 points on offer.

Tim Declercq is in a familiar spot – the Belgian is working at the head of the peloton for race leader João Almeida.

Lotto Soudal rider Tim Wellens triumphed from the break when Roccaraso last hosted a Giro stage finish back in 2016. You can read the report of that day here.

Two years ago the race visited again, though it was a mid-stage passage on the way to the summit finish of Gran Sasso d'Italia. Simon Yates won that stage while in the pink jersey.

71km to go

6:10 for the break now as they start the second-category climb. It's looking good for them at the moment – we'll see how the gap changes by the top.

The heavens have opened in Abruzzo. Miserable conditions for the riders on the climb.

Things are kicking off in Gent-Wevelgem inside the final 70km.

Check out our live coverage here. 

Seven minutes for the breakaway now 8km from the top of the climb. The situation is only improving for the group.

18-8-6-4-2-1 points on offer at the top of the Passo San Leonardo, remember. Visconti will be eyeing them up as he looks to bolster his KOM lead. 

Nobody is in any trouble in the break yet. It's a long climb but not a particularly steep one. The group are losing some time – down to 6:15 on the peloton now – but they're still working well together.

There's 10km to go in Paris-Tours and it's been an exciting race. We'll have a report from that race soon after the finish.

48km to go in Gent-Wevelgem and 55km to go here. It's a busy old day.

Final kilometre of the climb for the breakaway. Who will take the points at the top?

53km to go

Visconti outsprints Guerreiro over the top with Castroviejo in third place. 18 more points for the Italian.

76 mountain classification points for Visconti now ahead of Ganna's 41 and Jonathan Caicedo's 40.

The peloton cross the summit 4:35 after the break. Deceuninck-QuickStep, Trek-Segafredo and Astana lead the way.

The gap is falling away now. Four minutes for the break on the descent, which is up and down rather than a quick and steep one.

Unless the peloton slows down the chances for the break don't look too great anymore. They've just tackled a rise in the road and are back descending again. 

The next climb – the second-category Bosco di Sant'Antonio – awaits.

37km to go

Bjerg missed a turn on that descent and briefly left the road. He's ok though, and back with the break.

Bjerg makes a strong move at the base of the climb. Castroviejo chases and gets back to his wheel.

Visconti is in trouble at the back. Warbasse and Frankiny are with Bjerg and Castroviejo now.

Deceuninck-QuickStep are massed at the front of the peloton, 4:20 back. It looked calm for a moment there, but Trek-Segafredo have suddenly mobbed the front. An ominous sign for the break and Vincenzo Nibali's rivals?

Trek-Segafredo's move has shattered the peloton. Riders are being spat out of the back left, right and centre as the pace goes up.

Guerreiro has made it up to the leaders now. Five men up front.

30km to go

So that's Sepúlveda, O'Connor and Visconti dropped from the break. The five leaders are 3km from the top of Bosco di Sant'Antonio now.

Trek-Segafredo have taken 35 seconds off the break's advantage since taking to the front. It's down to 3:45 now.

No challenge for the KOM points at the top of the climb. Guerreiro leads Castroviejo and the rest of the group over the top.

23km to go

It's no down to 3:25 to go. Trek-Segafredo have handed control of the peloton back to Deceuninck-QuickStep now. It looks like they're saving their power.

And the gap goes back up to 3:35. The five breakaway riders are working together and now their situation looks pretty good with 20km to go.

There are maybe 50 riders in the peloton at the moment. More climbing to come.

Here's a look at today's breakaway.

Rolling roads for the break now as they ride towards the final climb of the day.

15km to go

Bahrain McLaren have joined Deceuninck-QuickStep at the head of the peloton.

The gap has gone up to four minutes since Trek-Segafredo left the front of the peloton.

Here's a look at the finale. The break are at the bottom of this right now.

9km to go

Team Sunweb take to the front of the peloton in support of Wilco Kelderman.

3:30 between break and peloton, by the way. The five men up front are certain to contest the victory.

Horrible weather conditions here. Most of the riders have their full wet weather gear on now. Nibali is in summer kit though, ready to go.

Antonio Nibali takes to the front of the peloton for his brother. Bahrarin, UAE, Bora are all present towards the front.

Maglia rosa João Almeida looks comfortable towards the front of the peloton at the moment. All the big names are still up there.

6km to go

A move from Warbasse up front is followed by Castroviejo, who has blown the group apart. Only Guerreiro can follow!

Back in the peloton, Mitchelton-Scott and Ineos are making moves.

Antonio Nibali peels off the front and Deceuninck-QuickStep take it up again.

Castroviejo and Guerreiro work together.

5km to go

Now Fabio Felline (Astana) makes a move form the peloton.

Tao Geoghegan Hart and Lucas Hamilton are the Ineos and Mitchelton-Scott men who jumped away from the peloton two kilometres ago.

15 seconds between the two leaders and the rest of the break. 2:40 back to the peloton. Geoghegan Hart and Hamilton are 20 seconds up on the peloton.

2km to go

Hamilton and Geoghegan Hart are riding well. They can take some time here. The pair are 2:47 and 3:18 down on GC.

Guerreiro and Castroviejo are only taking time on the chasers. They should contest the finish now. 40 seconds up.

1.5km to go

Hamilton and Geoghegan Hart are gaining 30 seconds on the peloton.

1km to go

Castroviejo tries a move inside the final kilometre.

Guerreiro is right with him. The pair ride on, 40 seconds ahead of the chasers.

500m to go

Harsh gradients here, up to 12 per cent. Castroviejo is on the front.

Geoghegan Hart and Hamilton still 30 seconds up on the peloton.

The leaders are grinding up to the finish. Castroviejo still on the front...

A brutal finish. Castroviejo pushes on but Guerreiro passes him and eventually dispatches him in the final hundred metres.

It looked like Guerreiro was struggling too, but he just kept grinding up and Castroviejo had no answer.

Bjerg takes third.

Kelderman and Fuglsang push on in the peloton.

Nibali and Kruijwsijk are both losing time...

Nibali didn't look good at all on those steep slopes. A gain for several of his rivals. Almeida and Kruijswijk finished behind him though.

Kelderman and Fuglsang together. Majka lost 3 seconds, Pozzovivo lost 6, Nibali lost 14, Almeida lost 18, Kruijswijk lost 21.

Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) celebrates his win on stage 9.

Guerreiro now leads the mountain classification. Today he took 18 points apiece on the Passo Lanciano and Bosco di Sant'Antonio, 8 points at the Passo San Leonardo, and 40 at Roccaraso. He's on 84 points now, 8 points up on Visconti in second place.

Almeida is in pink and white, so Guerreiro taking blue means that Portuguese riders now hold three of the four jerseys at the Giro.

It's the first Giro stage win for Portugal since Acácio Da Silva back in 1989. He won five stages across five years for Malvor, Kas and Carrera Jeans. 

Guerreiro celebrates his victory

Here's our stage 9 report, with a full photo gallery and brief results.

Here's what Guerreiro had to say after the finish.

"Finally, what a great satisfaction after so many second places! The team and I really deserved this victory. It was very difficult to get into the breakaway this morning and it's extraordinary to win today."

A few other major races on today – Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Tours. Click through to read our race reports.

And here's our report on the women's Gent-Wevelgem.

Kelderman: I didn't have the pink jersey in mind today at the Giro d'Italia

Dutchman moves up to second overall and gains time on Nibali and Kruijswijk

Warbasse slams Giro d'Italia stage 9 winner Guerreiro for lack of collaboration in breakaway

'Guerreiro was riding like a real asshole today'

2020 Giro d'Italia stage 9 highlights - Video

Watch Ruben Guerreiro claim the victory on Roccaraso

Giro d'Italia analysis: Uncertainty still reigns after Roccaraso summit finish

Nibali and Kruijswijk lose seconds on final haul to stage 9 finish

Giro d'Italia: Kruijswijk takes a GC hit on Roccaraso

Jumbo-Visma leader cedes 21 seconds to best-placed GC contenders