Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 10

Welcome to live coverage of the Giro d'Italia stage 10 from Civitanova Marche to Forlì

I hope that you've all recovered from the first week with yesterday's rest day. We've got a 200-kilometre sprint stage to ease us back into the racing.

There's hardly a bump in the road for the riders today en route to Forlì. Here's what the parcours looks like for stage 10.

It was a very good weekend for Astana with Mikel Landa putting in a strong performance on stage 8 and Paolo Tiralongo taking a stage win the following day. Fabio Aru lost some time to Alberto Contador on Saturday but he was able to peg one back on Sunday with the sprint for third place. Only three seconds separate Aru and Contador at the top of the standings.

Richie Porte is also in the mix at the top of the GC standings. Things are unlikely to change today but here are how things look this morning.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 38:31:35
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:03
3 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:00:22
4 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:46
5 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:16
6 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:01:46
7 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:02:02
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:02:10
9 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:02:20
10 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 0:02:24

Speaking of Porte, the Australian held a press conference during yesterday's rest day saying that he was ready to get suck into this second week. Cyclingnews also took a look inside the much talked about motorhome that Porte has been staying in during the Giro. You can take a look here.

We're around 10 minutes for the start of the stage and it's a lovely sunny day at the moment in Civitanova Marche.

@giroditalia Tue, 19th May 2015 11:21:59

As we near the start of today's stage, why not get an insight to what goes on in the build-up to a race. Cyclingnews spoke to some of the teams' mechanics, who talked us through their last-minute checks. You can watch the video here.

The peloton is on their way for stage 10.

After a fantastic start to the race, Orica-GreenEdge took a backseat in the mountains this weekend. The team are looking to get right back into it this week with more stage victories, according to DS Matt White. Read what White had to say to Cyclingnews here.

There will be plenty of riders vying for victory today, including points classification leader Elia Viviani, André Greipel and Michael Matthews. We put together a list of five sprinters to look out for at this year's Giro d'Italia, which you can watch here.

The first attack of the day has come. The riders in that move are Oscar Gatto (Androni-Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Alessandro Malaguti (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Matteo Busato (Southeast) and Alan Marangoni (Cannondale-Garmin)

193km remaining from 200km

After 7km of racing the five men have 1:40 on the the peloton and it looks like we've got our main break of the day.

It's a long day so the peloton won't be in a hurry to catch these guys and they should be allowed a reasonable advantage but it's highly unlikely that they'll go all the way to the finish with the sprinters keen to take stage honours. Who do you think will be victorious today? Let us know on twitter on @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS

The opening nine stages of the Giro provided us with some exciting racing with a tough parcours doing a lot of damage and the overall classification is delicately poised as we go into the second week. Take a look back at the most important moments of the Giro so far with our 9 conclusions after stage 9.

185km remaining from 200km

The riders are now 15km into today's stage and the break have a 2:42 advantage on the peloton.

@roseemanley Tue, 19th May 2015 12:01:34

Did you miss any of the action this weekend? Don't worry, watch hightlights of stage 8 and stage 9 on our Youtube channel.

@KrStokdahl Tue, 19th May 2015 12:06:06

While today's stage should be fairly straight forward for the peloton, the finale may not be. There is a right hand bend inside the final 100 metres and the rider who comes out of this corner first is likely to be the winner. Former rider turned TV pundit Cedric Vasseur posted this picture of the final bend on twitter.

175km remaining from 200km

The riders have completed 25 kilometres and the gap to our five escapees is 2:38.

175km remaining from 200km

The riders have completed 25 kilometres and the gap to our five escapees is 3:15.

175km remaining from 200km

One man that is unlikely to be contesting the finish today is IAM Cycling's sprinter Matteo Pelucchi. The Italian is suffering with an infected ankle following a crash on the second stage.

The latest time check for the five men out front is 3:30 after 35 kilometres of racing. They're not being given too much of a leash by the peloton.

Outside of the Giro d'Italia, Cyclingnews caught up with former rider Jens Voigt on the challenges of retirement and becoming, fatter, older and weaker. Watch the funny interview here.

Fabio Aru has had a slid Giro d'Italia so far, despite missing his final warm-up race due to illness. Aru missed the Giro del Trentino last month, leading Greg Henderson to accuse him of having problems with his biological passport. Yesterday the Italian's lawyer confirmed that they are taking legal action against Henderson following the twitter outburst.

@beeojay Tue, 19th May 2015 12:12:25

157km remaining from 200km

After 43 kilometres the escapees have extended the gap to 4:05 on the peloton. None of the riders out front are a threat to the overall classification with Busato the best placed in the GC at 1:36:03 down.

Busato is in his first year as a professional moving to Southeast from the MG Kvis - Wilier team. The 27-year-old Italian is still awaiting his first professional victory.

After leaping to over four minutes, the escapees have seen their advantage over the peloton cut to just 2:10.

Alberto Contador came out of last weekend with a three-second lead over Fabio Aru. He's held the maglia rosa since stage 5, but says that he may try and hand the jersey elsewhere for a few days to take the pressure off. You can read what he had to say here.

139km remaining from 200km

After a little burst from the peloton, the escapees have picked up the pace again to bring the gap back out to 3:40 after 61km.

It's the eighth time that a stage of the Giro d'italia will finish in Forlì. Two-time overall winner Costante Girardengo was the first winner way back in 1925. Robbie McEwan took the honours on the last visit back in 2006.

It's quite the illustrious list that has taken the stage win in Forlì. among the other winners are Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra, Aldo Bini (also a winner of the maglia nera), Glauco Servadei, Rick Van Looy and Freddie Maertens. Who will add their name to that list today?

Let us know your predictions on twitter at @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS

Michael Matthews is one of the contenders for victory today. He's already got one victory and a stint in the maglia rosa under his belt. Take a closer look at the Scott Foil that he's been riding at this year's Giro d'Italia

Once you've watched the video of Matthew's bike make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we'll have highlights from each stage, plenty of behind the scenes videos and more. You can subscribe right here.

120km remaining from 200km

After 80km of racing the escapees have 3:55 on the peloton.

Domenico Pozzovivo made his return to the Giro d'Italia late last week following his spectacular crash on stage 3. The Italian, who was sporting bandages on his face, is already considering his comeback to racing.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Tue, 19th May 2015 13:34:06

Don't forget, you can also subscribe to the Cyclingnews instagram account for pictures from the Giro d'italia and the rest of the season.

It's lunchtime the peloton. The riders have been going for two hours, averaging 44.5kph over that time.

@giroditalia Tue, 19th May 2015 13:42:20

Michael Matthews confirmed to television that he actually won't be sprinting for the stage today. The Australian believes that it's too flat for him today, so he'll be saving his legs for tomorrow.

100km remaining from 200km

We're at the halfway point for today's stage and the five escapees have 4:41 on the peloton at the moment.

A reminder of the guys out in the break today. Matteo Busato (Southeast) is the best placed rider at 1 hour 36 behind Alberto Contador. Joining Busato out front are Oscar Gatto (Androni-Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Alessandro Malaguti (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Alan Marangni (Cannondale-Garmin), which makes this an all Italian break.

We spoke about Busato earlier on, lets take a closer look at some of the other escapees. First up is Alessandro Malaguti, who is from Forlì where the stage finishes today. The 27-year-old is in his third season as a professional and is riding his first Giro d'Italia. He's been out in the break already during the Giro and sits 2 hours 15 minutes behind the maglia rosa.

Alan Marangoni has also been on the break during this year's Giro. He's the only WorldTour rider in this group and is making his fifth Giro appearance. He has been a professional since 2009 but is still looking for his first pro victory.

The break go over the top of our only classified climb for the day with Malaguti taking the full points, followed by Marangoni and Busato.

Next up in our escape group is is Marangoni's former teammate Oscar Gatto, who now rides with Androni. The 30-year-old is riding his eighth Giro d'Italia. Gatto's biggest victory to date was his last-dag win at Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2013, where he beat Thomas Voeckler on the line.

Last but not least in our all-Italian breakaway is Nicola Boem. Boem is part of a Bardiani CSF team that has only made one change in their line-up compared to the 2014 race. At 25, Boem is the youngest rider in this group, but still has two Giro d'Italia under his belt. His biggest success to date is a stage of the Toru of Denmark.

86km remaining from 200km

With 86 kilometres remaining, the gap to the five men out front is 3:41 and it's coming down slowly.

Lotto Soudal have sent one rider to the front of the peloton to help out Giant-Alpecin, who have been doing the pace setting in recent kilometres. Trek Factory Racing and IAM Cycling also have riders near the front.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Tue, 19th May 2015 14:19:41

Away from the Giro for a moment and Marcel Kittel is due to make his return to racing at the World Ports Classic. Cyclingnews spoke to Giant-Alpecin's doctor, who has given the German the all clear to go racing again following an illness effected start to the year.

Today's stage is more than likely going to end in a bunch sprint, but it isn't straight forward  with twists, turns and cobbles in the run to the line. Former rider now TV pundit, Cedric Vasseur posted this picture on twitter earlier today.

74km remaining from 200km

The break are riding down a short descent and it will be almost entirely flat from the bottom to the finish. Their advantage is now 3:45.

we've still got 72 kilomteres to go, why not take a look at Alberto Contador's Giro d'Italia race bike.

Richie Porte looking comfortable in the peloton, with a mouthful of food. Sky will be looking to keep him safe today and deliver Elia Viviani to the victory.

@TheRaceRadio Tue, 19th May 2015 14:38:14

With plenty of sprinters' teams to control things, all the GC teams seem to be taking it easy today after an action packed first week. Take a look back at the most important moments of the opening week of the Giro with our nine conclusions after stage nine.

IAM Cycling put in a stint on the front of the peloton. Pelucchi might not be feeling the best today but they also have Heinrich Haussler for the sprint.

61km remaining from 200km

The gap has dropped to 2:41 as the peloton continue to drive the pace. Let us know what you think will happen today on twitter at @Cyclingnewsfeed and @SadhbhOS.

59km remaining from 200km

The peloton zooming along at 60kph and they've taken more chunks out of the escapees' lead and it drops down to 2:08 for a brief moment. The peloton realise what's going on and ease off to allow the break go back out to 2:55.

@cassette_media Tue, 19th May 2015 14:51:35

Ever wondered what goes on before a stage start, Cyclingnews spoke to several team mechanics who told us about the last-minute checks they go through before the riders leave for the day.

With some cobbles in today's finale, Tom Boonen is looking to take a comeback victory following his dislocated shoulder. Boonen has been quiet so far in the Giro but has been outspoken about his desire for a stage win recently.

"I think today will be better for us because it will be just me and Sabatini for the sprint. It's narrow and their is cobbles and I hope that it will be easier for us today," Boonen said ahead of the stage this morning.

The Lotto-Soudal led peloton is all string out at the moment as they go through a series of roundabouts.

49km remaining from 200km

Less than 50 kilometres remaining today as the gap continues to hover around 3:54. The five men in the lead have been out front since the first five kilometres. They've not been given too much space by the group with a maximum advantage of just over four minutes.

@MatMitchell30 Tue, 19th May 2015 14:56:38

Matteo Pelucchi has reportedly retired from the race. The Italian was suffering with an infected ankle following a crash on stage 2.

Michael Matthews is another rider that won't be contesting the sprint today. The Australian said earlier that he would be saving his energy for tomorrow. Cyclingnews spoke to his directeur sportif Matt White earlier today, who said that the team are on the hunt for more stage wins in this second week.

@KielyJosh Tue, 19th May 2015 15:11:16

Sounds like Haussler won't be sprinting for IAM Cycling today either. The Australian told reporters that he's been suffering from stomach problems and his main aim today is just to survive.

30km remaining from 200km

We're into the final 30 kilometres and the escapees have only 2:27 separating themselves from the peloton.

CCC Sprandi are the only Pro Continental team that didn't make it into the break today. The Polish team have been very active in the first week and they are looking to reward that perseverance with a stage win.

The peloton are just letting these escapees hang out there. They've got them at a manageable distance and they know that they can bring this back when they want to. Lotto-Soudal are taking the main chasing responsibility today.

Remember to subscribe to our Youtube channel for highlights of today's stage and the previous nine days of racing. Follow us on instagram for daily photos from the Giro d'Italia.

23km remaining from 200km

The escapees are approaching the final intermediate sprint of the day. They'll mop up most of the points and bonus seconds but they're no worry to any of the classification holders. The gap is just 2:10.

The intermediate sprint isn't contested by the escapees, who just roll across the line led by Oscar Gatto.

@RidersCramp Tue, 19th May 2015 15:34:35

The peloton come through the intermediate sprint two minutes down on the break. They too decide not to sprint for the points. With 50 available at the finish today the stage winner could step into the red jersey.

17km remaining from 200km

BMC have launched an attack. They've got one rider around 30 metres off the front of the peloton.

16km remaining from 200km

The BMC rider was Stefan Kung. He has now been caught but we can expect more attacks in these final kilometres.

14km remaining from 200km

Lotto-Soudal have almost their whole team up front with Trek Factory and Giant-Alpecin putting men up the front to help. The escapees are holding this gap out at 1:47 for now.

It's a lot for the peloton to overhaul in 13 kilometres, have they made a mistake?

A mechanical problem for Oscar Gatto. The break could have done with his help but some of them may be secretly happy with that as the Androni rider would be the favourite in a sprint finish.

10km remaining from 200km

Gatto talking to the car and it looks like he's accepted his fate that he won't make it back into the break again today. Bad luck for the Italian.

10km remaining from 200km

Gatto is back with the peloton with 10km to go. The remaining our escapees have 1:30 on the bunch.

9km remaining from 200km

The breakaway beginning to believe that they can go the whole way? They're really having to push to keep the peloton behind them.

8km remaining from 200km

The latest time check has the escapees at 1:19 over the peloton. There's some frantic chasing going on but it looks like the peloton have got this one wrong.

Cannondale are the only team represented in the break that have had a win during this Giro with Davide Formolo taking a stage victory last week.

6km remaining from 200km

The break working well together and still have 1:09 on the peloton.

Eisel has dropped back of the peloton and perhaps Sky have a problem.

4km remaining from 200km

And they have, Richie Porte has had a mechanical problem. It's outside the 3km to go so he needs to get back on soon.

On the front of the peloton, an AG2R rider has gone on the attack but he is quickly caught.

3km remaining from 200km

With just over 3km to go the breakaway still has just under a minute. It's going to be close for the four out front.

Porte is 36 seconds behind the peloton. This is far from ideal for the Sky rider.

Michael matthews is back with the Sky group. He's sitting in Porte's wheel.

2km remaining from 200km

The escapees still have 50 seconds with 2km to go. They look like they can do it.

Porte doesn't appear to be closing down the peloton quickly. He's still 32 seconds down and he's struggling to keep his teammates' wheels.

1km remaining from 200km

Marangoni attacks

We're under the flamme rouge

Marangoni still has a small gap but the other three are closing him down.

Malaguti is leading the chase

Marangoni still leads

Boem catches Marangoni

Boem wins

Nizzolo wins the sprint from the peloton

Porte still to finish

Porte loses more than 30 seconds on the maglia rosa.

Today should have been a clear-cut sprint finish but the peloton got it wrong and the escapees held on. Marangoni stuck out first but it was Boem who timed it right catching Marangoni just after the final corner to take the stage win.

Contador warming down on the peloton. He'll be reading the GC classification with interest after Porte's mechanical problem.

Today's stage victory has put Boem into the red jersey too. A big day for the Italian.

@tinkoff_saxo Tue, 19th May 2015 16:10:18

Confirmation of the top 10 from today's stage

1 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF 4:26:16
2 Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
3 Alessandro Malaguti (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini 0:00:02
4 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:04
5 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:18
6 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida
7 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
8 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Giant-Alpecin
9 Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
10 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Androni Giocattoli

We've not got the full look at the GC but confirmation of the top 3 shows that Richie Porte is no longer up there.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 42:58:09
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:03
3 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:46

Top 10 GC results coming through now and Richie Porte is now 1:03 behind Alberto Contador in the GC.

Apologies, Porte is actually 1:09 down on Contador.

We're already compiling a gallery and the results from today. You can take a look at it here, and it will be updated as the day progresses.

Finally we have it, confirmation of the top 10 in the GC after that stage.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 42:58:09
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:03
3 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:46
4 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:01:09
5 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:16
6 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:01:46
7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:02:10
8 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:02:12
9 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:02:20
10 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 0:02:24

@CafeRoubaix Tue, 19th May 2015 16:18:57

Tomorrow will be a lumpy day for the riders, but it's a chance for sprinters such as Michael Matthews and Sacha Modolo to take the win. Read the full preview of tomorrow's stage here.

That's it from us today, make sure to take a look at our race report for full results and pictures.