Giro d'Italia stage 7 - Live coverage

Race notes

Stage 7 is the first multiple mountain stage and goes from Diamante on the coast to Potenza in the Southern Apennines.

The 196km stage includes 4500m of altitude.

Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo) is the race leader.

Buongiorno and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 7 from Diamante on the Calabrian coast to Potenza deep into the Apennines of Basilicata. 

As the Cyclingnews live blimp takes height, the riders are signing on in Diamante. 

The start overlooks the Mediterranean sea but the 196km stage soon heads into the rugged mountains of Calabria and then Basilicata.

With four categorised climbs and a total of 4,510 metres in elevation gain, the Giro tackles its first mountain range, the Apennines. 

While the GC contenders will be keeping an eye on one another during the course of the day, this stage is one for the breakaway, with strong climbers such as Lennard Kämna, Esteban Chaves or Bauke Mollema possible candidates for victory.

There are almost as many scenario for the stage as there are metres of climbing. 

We expect attacks from the start, on the first real climb after 30km and even later, until a break is allowed to go clear. 

This is the map of the stage, in the toe and heel of Italy.

One rider missing from the start today is Michael Mørkøv.

Mark Cavendish's lead out man fell ill overnight and has been forced to abandon the Giro. 

Click below for the full story. 

Mark Cavendish loses Giro d'Italia lead-out man Mørkøv to illness

The riders are lining up for the roll out of Diamante.

There is a real sense of tension at the start. 

We can see Britain's James Knox up front. Will the QuickStep rider try to go in the break?  

Perhaps in a support role for Mauri Vansevenant, who is fifth overall, only 1:47 down on race leader Juan Pedro López. 

Today will be a big test of the young Spaniard's leadership.

We expect Lennard Kämna to go in the attack. He is second overall, only 38 seconds down on Lopez and leading the mountains competition.

The riders are lined-up and ready. They will soon start the 6km of neutralised roads before the flag stops. 

Here we go. The riders clip in and roll out of Diamante.

The opening 30km follow the coast but then the route turns right and begins to climb. 

First up, the second-category Passo Colla: 9.3 kilometres at an average gradient of 4.5 per cent. It is the perfect place for some climbers to get away. 

The toughest test of the day is the category 1 Monte Sirino after 90km. It’s a long slog of 24.4 kilometres up to a ski resort – the snow has melted but it will provide a stark contrast to the sun-drenched coasts of the last few days.

Next up the riders must deal with the category 2 Montagna Grande di Viggiano before they take on second-category Monte Scuro (6.1 kilometres at 9.7 per cent) and third-category La Sellata (7.8 kilometres at 5.9 per cent).

This is where the GC riders could attack, in the hope of racing hard all the way to the finish in Potenza and holding any gaps.

 The run-in to the finish in Potenza is far from simple, a short 2.3km climb with 7km remaining. The final 350 metres, while not classed as a summit finish, do go uphill at around 8 per cent, topping out at 13 per cent, meaning that if a single rider hasn’t made a break for freedom yet, the battle to the finish line will be a barnstormer. So, too, the arrival of the GC contenders as they scrap for precious seconds.

The riders are tucked in tight behind the race director's car. 

We're ready for the first attacks. 

Here we go! 

The flag drops and we have the first attacks!

Matt Holmes of lotto is the first to go clear. Others join him but the peloton is close too. 

This was the calm before the storm.

190km to go

The riders are packed together across the road , watching and waiting for someone to jump away.

The road is pan flat as passes near the Calabrian coastline. 

Enjoy it while it last guys! 

A roundabout splits the peloton and inspires a surge from Thomas De Gendt of Lotto.

The peloton has let him go. But others are jumping after him.

De Gendt is a smart rider and is clearly trying to get ahead of any attacks on the first climb.  

The three chasers are: 

Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix)

Davide Gabburo (Bardisni-CSF)

Samuele Rivi (Eolo-Kometa)

De Gendt leads the peloton by 50 seconds but they moving too as the road rises slightly. 

Davide Formolo (UAE) is on the move and his surge will surely change things.

Wout Poels of Bahrain is up front too. 

Even Mathieu van der Poel is joining the surges at the front of the peloton but he is marked closely. 

However the attacks have cut De Gendt's lead to just 10 seconds.

Over a long bridge more attacks come. 

A bigger group are on the move and have joined De Gendt. But that has inspired a chase. 

Van der Poel makes a third surge but is chased for a third time. 

The road is gradually climbing the hillside on a main road. The gradient is only 3/4 % but hurts at this speed.

173km to go

A slight descent sparks a moment of gruppo compatto.

Jaakko Hänninen stops for a front wheel flat but should be able to chase in the team cars and get back on.

It would be a far bigger problem for a sprinter.

Race leader Juan Pedro López also has a problem and makes a quick bike change.

A Trek teammate waits for him to chase back on in the slipstreams of the team cars.

He will soon be back on and can relax. However he does not have bidons and so calls for a drink via television. He forgot to take a bidon from the bike he left down the road.

Van der Poel apparently told Dutch media at the start that he was targeting the stage. 

He attacks again but is chased down yet again.

it's a day for breakaway heroes and Alessandro De Marchi attacks alone.

Other riders are chasing the Italian, with 5km to the start of the climb. 

De Marchi is still clear but the peloton is coming after him. 

This is hurting everyone in the race.

160km to go

The Passo Colla is about to start. 

It is 9.3 kilometres long at an average gradient of 4.5 per cent. It is the perfect place for some climbers to get away.

The riders have covered a fast opening 30km but the elastic has yet to snap in the peloton.

We have a new attack inspired by Cyclingnews blogger Joe Dombrowski of Astana.

The American has dragged a group clear. 

The peloton also seems to have eased up. 

There are six riders in the move but there is a reaction from the peloton.

The USA's Will Bart is also in the attack, putting 2 US riders up the road. 

The peloton catches the move as the gradient steepens. 

Now Poels attacks on a short 12% section. It's the perfect take off point.

Poels is going deep to try to open a gap. 

Other riders are chasing him but the Dutch climber has made a significant move.

The climb has eased back to 4% and so now is the time for counter attacks.

At the back of the pack, the sprinters are struggling and hurting. They're desperate for the peloton to let the break o, in the hope the pace eases. 

The sprinters face a long hard day in the Apennines.

155km to go

Other riders are jumping away from the peloton.  

More riders surge from the peloton to catch the attackers. 

Poels is solo out front but would be happy to be joined by several riders to share the effort.

Now Kemna moves, thinking of the KOM points at the summit of the Passo Colla.

But Trek mark him and close him down.

150km to go

As the riders climb into the low clouds, van der Poel attacks again but he is again closed down.

Poels leads by 20 seconds but he is alone and suffering. 

Poels is 1.5km from the top of the climb. 

Formolo and Perez of Cofidis go clear over the top of the Passo Colla. 

Formolo and Perez get some slipstream help from the TV moto and so join Poels up front. 

The three lead the peloton by 10 seconds or so on the flat roads and descent off the Passo Colla.  

The peloton is chasing the three attackers on the twisting descent. 

Behind Tom Dumoulin is chasing the pack after a mechanical problem.  

137km to go

Wow! 

Richard Carapaz is on the move. Why? 

Carapaz has a teammate with him but the peloton is chasing them. 

Suddenly the GC race is alive. 

Carapaz has joined he ten riders who were up front with Poels.

Wisely Formolo attacks the attack as the peloton chases down Carapaz.  

135km to go

The descent is done and so the riders will start the climb of Monte Sirino. 

Monte Sirino peaks after 90km of racing. It’s a long slog of 24.4 kilometres up to a ski resort at 5% but with a nasty 2km section in the middle at 8%.

Kamna is on the move again, followed by Lopez, Sivakov and BikeExchange rider but they all sit on Kemna.

Formolo is out front alone, hoping others will join him. 

Everyone is looking tired after a high-speed, aggressive opening 60km. 

Some of the GC leaders could be alone later in the stage due to the huge efforts needed so far. 

Other riders are attacking and others are being dropped. 

The sprinters have already formed a gruppetto behind and will pace their effort in the hope of finishing inside the time limit. 

The road is twisting upwards and we have more attacks. 

Joe Dombrowski is  in a small group chasing Formolo.   

But the peloton is just behind and chasing them. 

125km to go

Poels and Bouwman have joined Formolo and Villella. 

Behind Dumoulin is also on the move. 

The attacks and chases are none-stop.

Camargo of EF is on Dumoulin's wheel as Mollema goes deep to join them.

We can see three other chasers as the peloton seems to have eased.

These are the four leaders: 

Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) 

Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) 

Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma)

Davide Villella (Cofidis)

And these are the three chasers:

Diego Camargo (EF Education-EasyPost)

Tom Dumoulin (JUmbo-Visma)

Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)

The peloton is at 1:00. 

120km to go

Contact. 

The two groups combine to create a seven-rider break. It has taken 70km for a break to go and the peloton to let them go.

Everyone, except the 7 can take a deep breath, eat and drink.  

This is the breakaway: Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma), Davide Villella (Cofidis), Diego Camargo (EF Education-EasyPost), Tom Dumoulin (JUmbo-Visma), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

They are half-way up Monte Sirino as the summit appears through the clouds.

A classic sign that the break has been the green light is that race leader Lopez has stopped for a natural break. 

The peloton is at 2:00, allowing some riders to get back on after all the attacks. 

The break is now working together. 

Jumbo have the advantage of having Dumoulin and Bouwman in the break.   

The middle section of Monte Sirino is on flat roads but the final 4km kick-up at 6.4%. 

A chasin problem for Kamna but he is quickly away again. 

Simon Yates takes a bike change. 

Yates is back at his team car to tighten his the hold of his pedals on his shoe-plates.  

Villella needs a bike change bu is chasing, just as the gradient steepens through the trees.

The break is just 3km from the summit now. 

Trek have picked-up the chase on the front of the peloton. 

They are at 4:45. 

Bouwman is the best placed overall, at 5:30. 

The sprinter's gruppetto is 8 minutes down on the peloton. 

This is the gruppetto.

1km to the summit of Monte Sirino. 

105km to go

Bouwman kicks away to win the sprint to the summit of Monte Sirino. 

Poels is second and Formolo third.

Bouwman scored 40 points and so could go on to take the blue KOM jersey at the end of the stage. 

The break starts the long descent to the valley road.

Behind the peloton takes on drinks and food as they near the summit.  

The peloton is 5:20 behind the 7 attackers at the summit of Monte Sirino.

100km to go

After 96km of intense racing, the situation has settled with 100km to go.

These are the severn attackers: Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma), Davide Villella (Cofidis), Diego Camargo (EF Education-EasyPost), Tom Dumoulin (JUmbo-Visma), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

The peloton is at 5:20. 

Bouwman will soon be the virtual race leader. 

The seven attackers have taken on food and bidons and working smoothly together. 

Dumoulin needs mechanical help. He takes a bike change and quickly gets going. 

He is actually on his first bike. 

The gruppetto of 60 or so riders were timed at 13 minutes.

They will have to drive hard on the descent and valley road to avoid any risks in the final part of the stage.

76km to go

5:30 between the break and peloton at the moment. Trek-Segafredo in charge at the front of the peloton.

The break is on the road back uphill now as they ride towards the day's first intermediate sprint at Viggiano.

All still working well together out front.

72km to go

The gap has gone down a little as the riders head uphill. It's 5:10 now as the break comes close to the sprint in Viggiano.

DSM, Bora, BikeExchange, and Trek are at the front of the peloton spread across the road.

Koen Bouwman leads the break over the sprint point.

69km to go

Now there's a short descent before the riders head back uphill for the second-category climb of the Montagna Grande di Viggiano (6.1km at 9.6%).

Ineos Grenadiers now at the head of the peloton.

Davide Villella loses it on the way down the descent and heads onto the grass, where he takes a soft, slow fall. He's chasing back on 20 seconds down on the rest of the break now.

66km to go

4:35 now for the break as Camargo and Poels look to be in some trouble keeping up. Villella still chases behind.

Yep, Poels is off the back.

Villella is up to Poels but they are still off the back.

Bouwman, Dumoulin, Formolo, Camargo, Mollema just up ahead.

Villella gets back in as Poels still lingers behind the break.

Now Villella and Camargo are struggling as Dumoulin pushes the pace.

64km to go

Villella stops with a bike issue. He doesn't get a bike change but his mechanic instead spends maybe 30 seconds fixing something with his saddle.

Formolo now pushing on at the front of the break. Villella back to chasing only even further back than he was before. Poels is gone.

4:50 between break and peloton now.

DSM, UAE, Trek, Cofidis all have riders at the front of the peloton but the pace isn't too high.

The attackers are on the steep 12% sector of the Monte Grande di Viggiano. 

They're all suffering and Poels seems unlikely to get back on.  

Villella is with Poels after his bike problems and delays. He seems to be riding a spare bike that isn't his. 

At the summit of the climb, Bouwman surges clear to take another 18 points ahead of Formolo. 

Some attacks by the GC riders expected on the steep Monte Grande di Viggiano climb but nothing happened. 

With 60km to go, and 14 stages still to race, perhaps it is too early to take risk and go deep.  

After 15km of descending and a valley road,  the riders face the last categorised climb of the day. La Sellata is 7.8km at 5.9%. Perhaps we will see some action there from the GC riders. 

Meanwhile the GC group, with race leader Juanpa Lopez of Trek passes the summit at 5:30. 

All the GC contenders were near the front to start the descent safely and then avoid crashes on the descent. 

The peloton is timed at 6:20, so Bouwman is the virtual maglia rosa. 

However we expect the GC teams to up the pace in the final hour. Though Bouwman and Dumoulin will move back into the top ten overall. 

So too will Mollema but that will be of little consolation to Lopez. Logically, Mollema is not working in the attack. That should make him the strongest if they fight for the stage win.   

Villella is back in the attack, meaning there are six riders 5:35 ahead of the peloton.

Ineos are now leading the peloton, perhaps to keep Dumoulin in check. 

40km to go

The gap is down to 4:50. 

Juanpa Lopez is back into the virtual race lead.

The attackers are on the short climb before the key La Sellata climb. We could see attacks here. 

Mollema for a long one? 

The six are working together, apart from Mollema but the gap is falling. 

It is down to 4:00.  

Swift and Puccio are leading the chase. They've cut the gap to 3:30 and are showing that Ineos appear to be the strongest team of this year's Giro.

30km to go

The sprinters' gruppetto is timed at around 22 minutes. 

That should be enough for them to finish inside the time limit. 

Here we go! After some tactical games and looks at each other, Tom Dumoulin has upped the pace. 

Race on for the stage victory.

Formolo also ups the pace as Camargo is dropped.

Villella cracks too as Dumoulin kicks again.

We have four riders up front fighting for the stage victory: Dumoulin, Bouwman, Mollema and Formolo. 

Any of them could win.

Villella is fighting his way back on but he will have to go deep.

Dumoulin attacks. Mollema and Formolo chase him and then Mollema goes himself. 

It's a battle amongst the Dutchmen, though Bouwman is distanced. 

Formolo is still there. 

Now Formolo attacks the two Ditch riders. 

He's in the big ring and pushing it hard but Dumoulin and Mollema come back up to him.

25km to go

Dumoulin drags Mollema back up to Formolo near the top of the La Sellata climb.

There is now a fast descent towards Potenza but more short climbs and twisting roads before the finish.

Bouwman is back on and sprints to take maximum points at the KOM. 

Everyone is tired and even Dumoulin is suddenly distanced briefly.  

The Ineos lead peloton is at 3:15, controlling the chase and their GC rivals. 

This is the result of the final climb: 

Mountain 4 - La Sellata km. 172.2
1 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 9
2 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 4
3 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 2
4 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 1

Formolo dives down the descent but asks for the other to do some turns.

15km to go

This stage could any way and all four riders deserve to win it. 

Formolo has perhaps been the most aggressive. 

It's great to see Dumoulin back to his best and racing up front. 

Well Bouwman is stepping and can end the day back in the GC and in the climber's jersey.

Mollema was the smartest by joining the break, with his teammate behind in the race lead meaning he did not need to work. Now he has to finish it off.

Ineos has lead the chase and so the attackers won't threaten the race lead. 

The gap is down to 3:20. 

Will see attacks in the GC group? Perhaps Kamna will try to snatch the maglia rosa from Lopez. He is only 38 seconds down. 

Potenza sits across several hills. There is the final intermediate sprint with 7km to go, a descent and then a climb up to the finish.

In the peloton, the GC riders are all up front, ready for any attacks. 

The climb to the intermediate sprint is hard! 

This is a battle of survival and of nerves after such a hard stage in the Apennines.  

Mollema attacks but they're on him.

Except Dumoulin, who is slowed by a gear problem. 

He's there and a danger.  

500m to the top of the climb. 

Dumoulin rides on the front. 

But Mollema goes again!

Only Bouwman and Formolo respond.

Dumoulin is distanced. We're down to three riders.

Now Formolo churns a huge gear to hurt his rivals over the top of the climb.

5km to go

Dumoulin seems cooked and unable to get back on. 

This will be decided on the climb up to the finish.

The last 350m are at 8%v and so will hurt. 

Mollema goes again. He and Formolo don't want Dumoulin to get back on but Bouwman is trying to use that to his advantage.

3km to go

As the trio play games, Dumoulin gets back on and sets the pace for Bouwman.

2km to go

This is hard to call. 

Formolo, Bouwman or Mollema could win.

Lask Km! 

Dumoulin leads it out!

The road kicks up! 

sprint!

Bouwman takes it!

He had the best kick and neither Formolo or Mollema could hold his wheel. 

Mollema was second and Formolo third.

Dumoulin finished fourth, celebrating his teammates win with his arms in the air.  

Here come the GC riders, with Bahrain protecting Landa. 

Everyone seemed to finish in the same time. 

Lopez was near the back but should keep the pink jersey for another day.

The peloton finished 2:59 down. 

That is just Bouwman's second career win. His last was a stage at the 2017 Dauphine.

No wonder he is happy. 

Jumbo had a bad day on the stage to Etna but bounced back today.  

Bouwman and Dumoulin celebrated together beyond the finish line.

With two riders in the break, they were expected to win but that was a hard stage to get in the break, to make the final selection and then win. 

Bouwman had the best kick to the line. 

Here's a shot of Bouwman winning and celebrating.

Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel rides in at 15:43. He is perhaps the favourite for Saturday's hilly stage around Naples. 

Bouwman was shocked and happy to win after so long. 

"Unbelievable, like my first victory in the Dauphine, I can't believe it," he said. 

"It was such a hard day, actually, and in the final we were with four guys and two of us, and Tom did a superb job in the last 2k. I felt quite good. One time on the climb I had troubles but I came back and I was confident for the sprint. I'm so happy." 

He then talked about the sprint. 

"It was steeper than I thought but when I started my sprint I had so much power left and I knew I was getting close to the victory," he said. 

"At 150 metres, I looked behind, and I had a big gap, so it was perfect."

Bouwman's win brought the smiles back to Jumbo-Visma. 

"Our GC guys lost time, especially Tom. We are focused now on stages with both of us, and some are still trying to do a GC, but now having a victory - I can't describe it in words."

Tom Dumoulin was happy for Bouwman as if he had won himself. 

"I’m so happy. It’s a great day," he said. 

"It wasn’t my plan to go in the break but I found myself in there by coincidence. I’m so happy for Koen, he’s one of the riders in the bunch who deserves it the most."

"I knew he was going to be the fastest but to get him to the line so he could sprint, was a first objective. We succeeded and so we’re happy," Dumoulin added.  

"We worked for each other. I felt my power going down a bit in the finale, which is okay, so then I killed myself for the common good." 

The sprinters have finished and Demare makes an extra effort climbing on the podium to wear the ciclamino points jersey.  

Here's another great pic of Bouwman winning the stage in Potenza.

To read our full stage report and see our growing photo gallery, click below.

Giro d'Italia: Bouwman wins stage 7

These are the stage results via our friends at First Cycling.

Lopez endured a hard day but got to keep the maglia rosa for another day.

Lopez leads Simon Yates (BikeExchange) and the British rider is likely to try to take the jersey and gain time on hisd GC rivals on Sunday on the hard climb to the finish on the Blockhaus climb in the Abruzzo mountains.  

The full stage results are out and and show that Mark Cavendish finished safely in the gruppetto at 42:35, the same time as Ewan and a big group of riders. 

The time limit was 56:15 and so the ride it well. 

It will be interesting to see if the hard stage and climbing has an effect on the sprinters during Saturday's circuit stage around Naples. 

The 153km stage includes a number of city centre climbs before the finish on the Naples seafront. 

This is the emotional Jumbo-Visma view of Bouwman's win. 

Thanks for joining us for full live coverage of the stage. It's been a long day in the saddle but it was a great stage to follow blow by blow. 

We'll be back on Saturday for stage 8 around Naples.

'Tu si l’azzurro dò mare sì duci e si amar' dear Naples.