Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 20

Welcome to live coverage of the Giro d'Italia stage 20 from Saint-Vincent to Sestriere

the final weekend of the Giro d'Italia is upon us and the riders have two more climbs to conquer before tomorrow's flat run to Milan.

We're just over 20 minutes away from the neutral start today. Here's what the riders will face on this final mountain stage.

While there's only two climbs today, the riders must face the Cima Coppi (the highest mountain of the race) the Colle delle Finestre. Former rider Eros Poli rides the Finestre in this video preview of today's stage. He can't ride all the way to the top though as he has to hike through the snow in his cleats.

After a tough week, Fabio Aru finally made a comeback yesterday to take the stage win and move himself back into second place. There could still be more movement in the overall classification but here is how it looks this morning.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 78:48:40
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:04:37
3 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:05:15
4 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 0:08:10
5 Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky 0:10:47
6 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:11:11
7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:12:05
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:12:14
9 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:12:53
10 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:15:07

@giroditalia Sat, 30th May 2015 10:42:46

The riders are on the start line and we should be off soon for this 196km stage.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Sat, 30th May 2015 10:49:37

The riders are rolling through the neutral zone under blue skies and hot temperatures.

This season the UCI have been hot on the topic of motors in bikes. Earlier this week, they took a look at Alberto Contador's bike, which you can see here. Former Tour de France winner Greg Lemond believes that they should be using a heat gun to look for potential motors.

The mountains jersey is still up for grabs today. Giovanni Visconti is in blue after his attack yesterday but he's under threat from Steven Kruijswijk and his teammate Benat Intxausti. Here's how the top 10 looks at the moment.

1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 125 pts
2 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 109
3 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team 107
4 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 76
5 Carlos Betancur (Col) AG2R La Mondiale 75
6 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 63
7 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 53
8 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha 52
9 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 49
10 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 46

As always, we'd like to hear your thoughts on the today's stage. Let us know your predictions on twitter at @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS and we'll post them here.

The flag has been dropped and after four kilometres of racing it's still all together in the peloton.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Sat, 30th May 2015 11:24:16

178km remaining from 199km

We've finally got the beginnings of a break with Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling) and Giacomo Berlato (Nippo Vini Fantini) going on the attack.

With his pink jersey all but secured, Alberto Contador decided to conserve his energy yesterday. The Spaniard didn't chase down Fabio Aru's attack, instead choosing to sit on Landa's wheel. Read what he had to say after yesterday's stage.

Saramotins and Berlato are still out front and the group behind is fragmenting under the high pace.

@MCRPLLC Sat, 30th May 2015 11:25:49

169km remaining from 199km

The two escapees have been brought back by the peloton and it's all together once again

It was lovely and sunny at the start this morning but that could change by the finish with some rain expected towards the end of today's stage.

A shot of the riders rolling out this morning.

163km remaining from 199km

A move of nine riders have gone clear and they have 32 seconds on the bunch.

The leading group contains Saramotins and Berlato, who tried to get away before. Here's the full list of escapees, who now have 1:40 on the bunch.

Julien Berard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF), Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Giacomo Berlato (Nippo VIni Fantini), Matteo Busato (Southeast), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha).

Zakarin has already found success at the Giro d'Italia, winning stage 11 to Imola after getting in the early break. Can he become the third repeat winner of this year's Giro?

154km remaining from 199km

The gap to the nine escapees has gone up to two minutes, as Garmin-Cannondale ride on the front of the bunch. They have missed out on the move and my be looking to get one of their riders into this leading group.

Did you miss any of yesterday's action? Get up to date with our stage highlights video and go to our Youtube page for highlights of all the stages and other behind the scenes videos from the Giro d'Italia.

Today's stage features the Colle delle Finestre, which is this year's Cima Coppi. The climb comes 151km into the day and this is what faces the rider when they get there.

Cannondale-Garmin couldn't make any proper inroads into the escape group and Tinkoff-Saxo are now on the front of the peloton. After 51 kilometres the gap stands at 1:56.

The average speed for the first hour of racing was a speedy 48kph.

If you're just joining us on your lunch break, a quick reminder of the nine men out front, whose gap has gone back out to 2:14.

They are: Julien Berard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF), Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Giacomo Berlato (Nippo VIni Fantini), Matteo Busato (Southeast), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha).

This year's Giro d'Italia has certainly been one for the escapees. Can they do it again today or will the winner come from the peloton? Let us know what you think on twitter at @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS.

Today is the seventh time that a stage of the Giro d'Italia has finished in Sestriere. Vasil Kiryienka won on that day while riding for Movistar. He's already won a stage of this year's Giro with success in the time trial. He's got Leopold Konig to look after today but we could well see him try something if he's still got the legs on the final climb.

It's only the third time that the Giro d'italia will visit the Colle delle Finestre. It was there in 2011 when Kiryienka broke away to victory and first featured in 2005, a stage won by Jose Rujano.

The climb comes in two parts. The first nin kilometres of this brutish ascent are over paved roads but the second half of this climb must be completed on dirt roads. It averages 9.2 per cent with peaks of 14.

A total of 42 hairpin bends litter the 18 kilometre climb with 29 coming in the first four kilometres and peaks at over 2,100 metres. The challenge isn't over then, with a tricky start to the descent that could catch riders out.

123km remaining from 199km

The peloton are not giving this break much space and they've pegged the gap back down to 1:40.

I mentioned Zakarin earlier on, Nicola Boem is the other stage winner in this escape group. Boem win on stage 10 when the peloton got their timing totally wrong. Boem did no such thing and played it to perfection. Catching Alan Marangoni in the final corner to take the win in Forli.

@BikeSkiWoody Sat, 30th May 2015 12:43:14

114km remaining from 199km

The gap continues to bounce up and down around the 2-minute mark. With only two more chances to bring a victory home, there'll be plenty of teams keen to keep this one under check so they can have their own chance.

111km remaining from 199km

As we get ever nearer to the halfway point of this stage, why not take a look at this video preview as he takes on the Finestre and Sestriere.

A quick reminder of how things look in the general classification after Fabio Aru's stage win.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 78:48:40
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:04:37
3 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:05:15
4 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 0:08:10
5 Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky 0:10:47
6 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:11:11
7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:12:05
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:12:14
9 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:12:53
10 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:15:07

@giroditalia Sat, 30th May 2015 13:05:17

The pace has dropped a little from the first hour of racing as the peloton step off the gas a little. The average speed over the second hour of racing was 45.1kph.

98km remaining from 199km

We've passed the 100-kilometre mark for today's stage and it's almost lunchtime for the riders. The gap still around the 1:40 mark at the moment.

Confirmation of the intermediate sprint that happened at the 97km mark and it was Nicola Boem that took the points. Boem could still be in the hunt for the jersey.

This is what the standings looked like this morning.

1 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) TrekRacing 159 pts
2 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida 142
3 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 134
4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 128
5 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF 111
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 91
7 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 84
8 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 83
9 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 72
10 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Giant-Alpecin 66

The gap to the escapees has also gone out to 2:47 as the feed zone approaches.

92km remaining from 199km

Around 50 kilometres remain until the riders hit the lower slopes of the Finestre where the escapees can expect to see their lead disappear in a puff of smoke.

For Alberto Contador, he just has to follow the moves today to make sure that his maglia rosa is safe. What will be interesting is the fight behind between the two Astana riders. Will the team make them hold station or will they allow them to attack each other?

Landa could leave the team at the end of the season with his contract up this season, and a second place would certainly help his contract negotiations.

Send us your thoughts and predictions on today's stage on twitter and we'll post them here. You can tweet us at @Cyclingnewsfeed and @SadhbhOS

Last but not least of the stage winners in today's break is Diego Ulissi. The Italian took an emotional win on stage 7 to Fiuggi. Ulissi won two stages at last year's Giro too but was found to have salbutamol in his system and was eventually banned for nine months.

@XcskiPaul Sat, 30th May 2015 13:39:06

78km remaining from 199km

The peloton are slowly bringing this gap down once again and it has fallen to 2:06.

A few people are going for Hesjedal for today's stage. The 2012 winner has been particular aggressive over the last week, but he was left frustrated after he missed out once again yesterday. Read what the Canadian had to say after stage 19.

Some problems for Visconti. The Italian goes back to the car, and the mechanic gets the scissors out and snips the side of his bib shorts. Perhaps they were a bit too tight.

@TeamSky Sat, 30th May 2015 13:56:08

Astana rider Davide Malacarne is back with the car. It appears that he's been down on the ground at some point and he's got a rip in his shorts.

Tinkoff-Saxo are doing the work on the front at the moment as we get closer to the FInestre but LottoNL are trying to move up there too and put Steven Kruijswijk into position to take the mountains points.

60km remaining from 199km

Some furious calculations going on in the Katusha car. They surely know that the 1:44 gap that the break currently have over the peloton is nowhere near enough.

The peloton are beginning to string out with Tinkoff-Saxo leading the spearhead at the front of the bunch. LottoNL are just behind them with Astana and then Sky making up this spearhead.

@bodsey Sat, 30th May 2015 13:46:13

@r4ryandean Sat, 30th May 2015 13:48:49

51km remaining from 199km

LottoNL have put a man right at the front of the peloton. They really want this blue jersey for Kruijswijk. Movistar are hovering not too far behind them. There is 45 points available at the top of this climb as the highest of the entire Giro.

The leaders are just 2km from the second intermediate sprint, which comes just before the start of the Finestre climb. They've got 1:53 on the bunch at the moment.

A quick reminder of who is out front: Julien Berard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF), Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Giacomo Berlato (Nippo VIni Fantini), Matteo Busato (Southeast), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha).

Nicola Boem launches the sprint for the intermediate points. He just about hold off Marco Bandiera to take the full compliment of points.

46km remaining from 199km

The gap is really coming down now and FDJ have helped to light up the chase. The pace is burning a few riders off the back. The leaders have just 49 seconds on the bunch.

Zakarin leads the escapees onto Finestre but it is Berlato that launches the first attack.

The peloton have begun to bring back some of the escapees. Bandiera has gone and Busato is about to be the next one as Bongiorno attacks from the peloton.

Zakarin leads the chase group behind Berlato but they're being closed down by the peloton.

@giroditalia Sat, 30th May 2015 14:29:39

Ivan Basso is leading the peloton with Roman Kreuziger just behind him. Alberto Contador still has four teammates with him while Astana has almost their entire team.

43km remaining from 199km

Berlato is really struggling and Zakarin has almost caught him. They've got about 45 seconds on the peloton.

A small exchange between Cataldo and Rogers at the front of the bunch. Cataldo looks unhappy with something that Rogers has done.

Pirazzi is the next Bardiani rider to go on the attack, after Boem and Bongiorno have all had a go tofay.

Bobby Julich has joined us for the finale of today's tough stage. Thank for joining us Bobby.

Bobby Julich: "Well here we go, the last bit of suffering before Milan. Not surprised to see riders already attempting to form a groupetto. These guys have gone to war with each other for the last 3 weeks, but in the groupetto I think that you will see a lot of guys patting each other on the back and complimenting each other. The camaraderie within the peloton that is usually reserved for the last stage will start a bit early. They have sure earned it!"

41km remaining from 199km

Zakarin has dropped Berlato and is now out front on his own. Pirazzi is chasing with Izagirre behind him again. Zakarin has 54 seconds on the bunch and 36 on Pirazzi.

Julich: Zakarin is sure making a name for himself this last few months. He looks like a carbon copy of Chris Froome!

Zakarin is extending his gap over the peloton as Astana put their riders on the front. They've got serious numbers over the Tinkoff-Saxo team, with Contador looking isolated once again.

Julich: It will be interesting to see Astana’s tactics today. Of course there is a lot they can gain, but also a lot that they can loose. For the moment, it looks as if they are happy with setting their normal high tempo that sheds half the peloton, but there is a long way to go on some pretty epic climbs.

A strong performance from Zakarin on this climb as he brings the gap back out to 1:30 over the maglia rosa group and 1:02 over Pirazzi. Can he keep this going the whole way up the climb?

38km remaining from 199km

Astana on the front of the peloton but Zakarin is still extending his lead. Some riders are struggling with the pace and mountains classification leader Giovanni Visconti has gone off the back of the main group.

Of course, Movistar still have Intxausti for their mountains classification hopes but Visconti's troubles are good news for Kruijswijk and the Dutch rider is keeping himself near the front of the main group.

37km remaining from 199km

Kangert attacks. He's followed by Kruijswijk and Contador. The move has split the front group. Aru, Uran, Intxausti and Hesjedal in the front group.

That last little dig has shelled Rogers, Contador's remaining teammate. Astana still have three riders in this group with two more bridging across.

Julich: Alberto’s teammates have done a huge amount of work and have given 100%. This is nothing new to see that Astana has the numerical advantage, but the big question is….what will/can they do with it?

Kangert attacks again but Kruijswijk is quick to bring him back and all the riders that worked hard to get back to this front group have been distanced once again. Less than 10 riders in this front group of favourites with Zakarin still up the road.

35km remaining from 199km

Zakarin has hit the second half of this climb and the dirt roads. He still has 1:30 on the bunch here with Pirazzi attacking the maglia rosa group but he fails to get away.

Julich: Expect some more of these probing attacks and it will be a question of just the right combination working together. This is a good situation for Alberto because there seems to be plenty of riders that want to work today. Of course he has to be smart and control things himself as well.

The group of favourites have made it onto the dirt roads too, led by Hesjedal and the bikes are kicking up dust into the riders' faces. Hesjedal has put in a few digs on the ascent and we're likely to see more from him.

Julich: These gravel roads on this climb make me a bit nervous. With the GC on the line, lets hope that no one has any mechanical issues.

33km remaining from 199km

The pace continues to be upped in this front group of favourites, with Kruijswijk now on the front. He has shelled his biggest rival for the mountains classification Intxausti. The Spaniard is stuck in no man's land at the moment.

Darwin Atapuma is doing all the work on the front of the second group on the road and he catches Intxausti who will be put to work for Amador who is in this group.

Landa attacks and he gets a good gap. Heskedal, Kruijswijk and Contador chasing.

31km remaining from 199km

Aru wasn't able to react immediately to the attack and he had to rely on some help from a teammate to get back to the Contador group. Landa is still out front and he's got 20 seconds now.

31km remaining from 199km

Hesjedal attacks the Contador group but it is Kruijswijk that brings them back to the Canadian. Landa still putting time into them, he still has 34 seconds on that group.

Aru is struggling on the back of this third group on the road and he looks like he could be handing this second place back to Landa this evening.

30km remaining from 199km

3km to the top of the Finestre for Zakarin and his advantage over Landa is down to 20 seconds. Landa could have him before the top.

Uran still in this maglia rosa group. He's had a good final week and finished third in yesterday's stage. What can he do today?

@MRasmussen1974 Sat, 30th May 2015 15:19:35

29km remaining from 199km

Landa can see Zakarin up the road as he passes under the 30km to go banner. He's 14 seconds behind and has almost a minute on the group behind.

The riders still have 1.5km to the top of this climb.

Hesjedal attacks again, followed by Uran and Kruijswijk.

Aru trying to bridge the gap to the Hesjedal group. Kangert going too and Contador is the only rider unable to follow this move. He's totally alone.

Contador finally gets up and out of his saddle but it looks like the last few days are taking their toll on the race leader. There's a long decent for him to bridge the gap though.

Hesjedal pushes on and he drops Aru and Kruijswijk. Contador is 30 seconds behind now.

Julich: It goes without saying that this is not good for Alberto. I did notice that he was attempting to eat a lot before the climb.

27km remaining from 199km

Landa is now with Zakarin up front. Hesjedal and Uran are 30 seconds behind with Aru about five metres behind them. Contador is 1:13 behind the Landa group.

Landa is the first rider over the top of the Finestre and wins the Cima Coppi competition. They're onto this descent, which is very technical at the staert.

Julich: With the extreme altitude and dust on the road, hopefully when they go down and get back on the pavement, he will be able to recover before the final climb.

As one of my close family members would say, Contador is swinging like a barn door at the moment. He comes over the top almost a minute behind the Aru group and he's in trouble.

There are spots of rain coming down too, which could make this descent even more interesting. Landa and Zakarin are really going for it and are extending their advantage over the Aru group to 40 seconds.

22km remaining from 199km

Uran throws his hands in the air on this descent, telling Aru that he's not going to do any work and tries to force the Italian to the front. They've got 40 seconds on Contador at the moment.

Julich: There are moments in every race where a rider goes through a bad moment. We saw it with Aru, and now Contador will have to dig deep as well.

Kruisjwijk is chasing hard on this descent and he's almost back with the Aru group. He can see them us the road.

20km remaining from 199km

Contador has a big buffer in the GC but he's really going hard on this descent. Unfortunately, the group in front is also going for it. And he's now 45 seconds behind them.

18km remaining from 199km

Out front, Landa has a small gap on Zakarin on the descent, they're still pulling out an advantage over the chasers. Can they go all the way to the finish?

17km remaining from 199km

The leaders are almost at the bottom of this descent and they'll be climbing pretty much straight away. Landa and Zakarin have 47 seconds on the chasers and 1:33 on Contador.

Contador has had a lot of problems with crashes and mechanicals but this is the first time that we've really seen him struggling to keep the pace. Fortunately for him it has come on the last mountain stage.

Landa now has 54 seconds on the Aru group and he's putting himself back into second place overall. He started the day 38 seconds down on his teammate.

13km remaining from 199km

Zakarin and Landa chatting at the front of the group. Landa possibly asking Zakarin to pull to distance Aru and he will allow Zakarin the victory.

12km remaining from 199km

Alberto Contador continuing to lose time. He's caught Kangert but the Estonian is sat firmly in his back wheel and won't give him one bit of help. He's 1:39 down at the moment.

Julich: Alberto has to stay calm here and pace himself correctly. He has the TT of his life in front of him, but he is a fighter.

11km remaining from 199km

Landa and Zakarin working well together. They still have 40 seconds on the chasing group. Don't forget, there are bonus seconds at the finish which have to be accounted foe.

Julich: We have seen everything in this Giro and not many people would have called this, but it shows that anything can happen at any time.

Julich: The good news for Alberto is that this climb is a lot easier than the Finestre. He has a big advantage going into the stage and may need every last second of it

9km remaining from 199km

The Aru group is closing down the leaders. With less than 10km to the finish they've brought it back to 29 seconds. A lot can happen on this final climb.

Contador is also finally making some inroads. He's still 1:00 behind the second group on the road.

As we start going upwards, the Aru group has caught the Landa group and we have six riders out front.

Julich: Landa has been unbelievable every time the road pitches uphill. At his age, he has an great future in front of him. The experience he has gained in this Giro, not to mention in these final 10km of today’s stage, will serve him well in the future.

Contador is bringing this back slowly. He's still got Kangert in his wheel but they're 51 seconds back.

7km remaining from 199km

We've finally got sight of the Amador group again and they're 1:31 back. Probably too far back to be able to help Contador on this climb.

6km remaining from 199km

The front group have started to pull away once again and Contador has slipped back to 1:08 behind. There is just 6.1km to the finish now. He'll have to dig as deep as he can.

Landa and Aru are on the front of this leading group as Zakarin has a mechanical problem.

Looks like Zakarin had a problem with his chain and he's having to chase back on but it's a lot of work to do. What a shame for the Russian.

5km remaining from 199km

Contador's gap has gone out to 1:18. Is he struggling or has he taken his foot off the gas knowing that he's got such a large buffer in the GC?

Julich: I have to agree with the tactics from Astana and work together on the final climb. They have a big deficit to make up and this seems like the best way to do it.

Zakarin is caught and passed by Contador and Kangert just after the 5km to go banner.

4km remaining from 199km

Aru and Landa are swapping on the front of the lead group as the others just get a free ride to the finish. Are they handing the stage victory to one of the other riders?

3km remaining from 199km

After what he's done for the last few days, we can expect Hesjedal to have a go at this stage win.

Hesjedal is sitting third wheel in this leading group with Uran in his wheel and Kruijswijk last of the lot.

2km remaining from 199km

The gap to Contador is still going out but he doesn't seem too worried. He's only got 2.5 to the finish and he looks fairly safe in pink now.

Landa working on the front of the leading group, he quickly radios back to the car. What is there plan today?

Aru attacks

1km remaining from 199km

It seems that was the plan. Aru up the road and he's been caught by Uran with Hesjedal trying to bridge.

Julich: Surely the stage win will be between Uran, Hesjedal, and Kruisjswijk right? My money would be on Uran.

Aru has dropped Uran and he's going solo under the flamme rouge. Uran and Hesjedal are chasing behind.

Aru is into the final 500 metres.

That's two stage wins in two days for Aru and what a comeback.

Aru lets out a roar as he crosses the line

For the second day running, Hesjedal must settle for second with Uran in third. Landa takes fourth and Kruijswijk trails across for fifth.

The time ticks up but Contador is well inside the final kilometre.

Contador crosses the line 2:25 behind Aru. It's enough to secure his race victory and he knows it. Contador gives a little fist pump as he finishes.

We don't have the official timings but the Giro podium will be 1. Alberto Contador, 2. Fabio Aru and 3. Mikel Landa.

Julich: Well, don’t think that we could have asked for any more excitement and drama that we got today! Congrats to all the participants!

Confirmation of the top 10 for today's stage:

1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
2 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
3 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step
4 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team
5 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
7 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
8 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
9 Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky
10 Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team

A quick look at the GC shows that Contador will win the overall classification by 2:02 over Aru. We'll bring you full confirmation of the top 10 soon.

That's the first part of the Giro-Tour double completed for Contador. He had to go deep though in this final week and he will face tougher opposition at the Tour de France.

@giroditalia Sat, 30th May 2015 16:28:12

Alberto Contador steps onto the podium and he sprays the prosecco. He'll have to wait until tomorrow for the winner's trophy though.

Tinkoff-Saxo boss Oleg Tinkov is among the photographers at the front of the podium, and Contador passes him the bottle of prosecco. The Russian is most certainly a happy man. I'm sure he'll throw a pretty big party in Milan tomorrow night.

Julich: To be honest, I didn’t expect to see the action that we saw today on the 20th stage of the Giro. Goes to show you that nothing is to be taken for granted at this level of racing. Of course Alberto had a crisis, but he didn’t fold. He kept his calm and focus and was able to battle back quite well. I think that everyone expected him to lose more time and perhaps the whole race, but showed the mental strength that it takes as well as the legs. We have seen many huge young talents show great things in this Giro, but they have a long way to go to be at Alberto’s level in terms of experience.

Here we have it, confirmation of the GC following that stage. It makes for some interesting reading.

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 84:03:30
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 00:02:02
3 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team 00:03:14
4 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 00:08:19
5 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 00:09:52
6 Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky 00:10:50
7 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 00:11:02
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 00:12:17
9 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr 00:16:00
10 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha 00:16:23

Aru seems to have his whole family here and he's getting a lot of hugs after his second trip to the podium. Of course, he takes home the best young rider competition. There was never really any doubt.

A last word from Bobby Julich at this year's Giro d'Italia:

The other jersey that was decided today was the mountains classification. Despite cracking on the Finestre, Giovanni Visconti held on to take the blue jersey by three points over Mikel Landa with Steven Kruijswijk in third.

Head to our report for full details from today's action, results and gallery.

That is it from us today, stick with Cyclingnews for all the reaction from today's exciting stage and tune in tomorrow for live coverage of the final stage.