Giro del Trentino 2016: Stage 2

Hello and welcome to live coverage of stage two of the Giro del Trentino.

The Giro del Trentino race page

The Giro del Trentino race history

Official start list

Nibali and Landa expected to clash at mountainous Giro del Trentino

 Hello from the Dolomites of northern Italy as stage two heads to the finish in Anras in nearby Austria.

As we join the race fir the finale, the early break of six riders is about to be caught. 

Giacomo Berlato (Nippo) attacks alone but the rest of the break is chasing him.

The six have been away for much of the stage but the peloton is catching them, with Astana and SkyDive Dubai doing the work.

The Astana team dominated the opening TTT on Tuesday, beating Team Sky.

Click here to read our stage report. 

26km remaining from 220km

The 220km stage has climbed gradually through the valley via Bolzano and is about to cross into Austria.

The finale descends gradually before kicking up to the finish for the final 4km. 

The 7% climb to the finish will be the first showdown between Giro d'Italia rivals Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Mikel Landa (Team Sky).

The peloton has crossed into Austria, with Astana leading the peloton, with Team Sky lined out behind them. the speed is high as the riders fight for position.  

The break has just 38 seconds on the peloton now.

As the gaps falls, the riders in the break again attack each other.

@girodeltrentino Wed, 20th Apr 2016 11:42:55

The local band has welcomed the race at the finish area but need to clear the road, the race is coming fast.

Astana has moved off the front of the peloton as they prepare for the climb to the finish.

Crash!

The peloton has swept up the final attackers. We have Gruppo Compatto!

The riders are still on the wider valley road but will soon hit the climb to the finish.

10km remaining from 220km

Six kilometres to the start of the climb.

Team Sky has taken up the pace setting at the head of the peloton.

Drapac is also riding to set up Brendan Canty.

Gazprom is also near the front.

The climb is 4km long with an average gradient of 7%. However it has some early sections at 11%. 

The climb hits a narrow road with 3.5km to go. That will be the pinch point of the stage.

Team Sky has hit the front again, lining out the peloton.

3km remaining from 220km

Here we go. The riders hit the climb!

The peloton is breaking up.

Moscon and Landa are leading for Sky, with Tangert there for Astana.

Others riders are coming across.

Pozzovivo is there but Landa attacks alone.

Spokes of Drapac is not far behind him.

Landa leads by 200m. He will take the race lead if he can win by 14 seconds.

Landa has completed the steepest part of the climb but another kick up remains.  

He leads the chasers by 15 seconds.  

Sergey Firsanov (Gazprom-RusVelo) is trying to chase Lands.

1km remaining from 220km

Landa leads by 11 seconds.

Landa is still away but they are chasing him.

Landa is close to the finish. 

Here he comes. 

Mikel Landa is struggling. 

Landa holds on to win!

Firsanov almost caught Landa with a late chase but ran out of road. 

Damiano Cunego finished third with other riders following them in.

Landa struggled in the final kilometre and risked being caught but he did enough to win the stage and take the race lead from Agnoli, who finished well down. 

Jakob Fuglsang finished 14 seconds down and so the race leadership is a close call. 

Race organisers have confirmed that Landa has taken the race lead from Agnoli thanks to a ten-second time bonus for winning the stage.  

Landa climbs on the top step of the podium and collects his stage winner's trophy and a tray of Melinda apples.

Firsanov and Cunego also impressed today. Both are building up for the Giro d'Italia.

Nibali finished outside the top ten on the stage. He warned that he might not be competitive on this short climb after only recently completing an intense altitude camp.

In the overall classification, the time bonuses made a difference. 

Firsanov is second at four seconds, with Cinego third at 14 seconds. Fuglsang is fifth overall at 14 seconds.

@TeamSky Wed, 20th Apr 2016 12:30:19

Thursday third stage heads into the mountains with a tough finale.

The 204km stage starts in Silian in Austria and ends in Mezzolombardo not far from Trento in Italy.  

It includes two major climbs, including the Fai della Paganella. It is 10km long and ends just 12km from the finish.

We're going to end our live coverage from the Giro del Trentino and focus on Fleche Wallonne, which you can follow on our other live channel. 

We'll be back with further live coverage from the Giro del Trentino on Thursday. 

We'll have a full report and photo gallery very soon on Cyclingnews.