Full live coverage of the first big GC hit-out of the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia.
Good morning, and a warm welcome to Cyclingnews' live race centre for stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia. And I mean that - we're heading up a volcano today. Yes, the early rest day is out of the way, and it's time for the first summit finish of the race, and therefore the first big hit-out between the overall contenders. Mount Etna awaits.
We're in Cefalu, on the island of Sicily, after the race transferred from Sardinia on the rest day yesterday. The stage will get underway at 12.00 CET.
Stage preview
Our race leader is present and correct - here's Fernando Gaviria speaking to Eurosport. The Colombian earned the pink jersey by winning a thrilling stage 3 which was blown apart by his Quick-Step team in the late crosswinds. You can catch up with how that all played out right here.
Here's how the GC stands. It will look nothing like this in six hours' time, mind.
All eyes on this man
One of our men in Italy, Stephen Farrand, spoke to Nibali, and his coach Paolo Slongo, about today's stage, and you can read their thoughts in this piece, which includes a nice headline pun from Mr Farrand.
The riders have rolled out of Cefalu for the start of the stage. They'll face a short neutralised ride to kilometre-zero, whereupon the start proper will be given and the attacks will come from the breakaway hopefuls.
A minute's silence was held on the start line in memory of Wouter Weylandt, who tragically lost his life at the Giro six years ago to the day.
We're off!
We have some riders on the attack, including Eugenio Alafaci, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg, Jan Polanc, and Pavel Brutt. Others clip off in pursuit, while the peloton remains close at hand.
It looks like Davide Villella and Quentin Jauregui are half a minute behind that quartet. The peloton is just over a minute back at the moment.
The quartet extends its lead to two minutes as they make their way along Sardinia's northern coast. Villella and Jauregui have been absorbed back into the bunch.
161km remaining from 181km
The breakaway riders add another minute to their advantage - three minutes now.
Chris Froome hit by car
147km remaining from 181km
After BMC co-leader Rohan Dennis lost a heap of time on Sunday, it will be interesting to see how Tejay Van Garderen fares today. Also interesting is what he's riding and, thanks to our very own Josh Evans, we have detailed look at the American's BMC bike, complete with photo gallery and spec sheet.
134km remaining from 181km
In 10km time, the riders will hit the first of the two climbs on today's route, the Portella Femmina Morta. It's a long one, at a beastly 32.7km, but is ranked as second-category given the fairly gentle gradients - averaging around 5%.
A first shot of the break from the race organisers
The official average speed for the first hour of racing was a shade under 51km/h.
With the Mount Etna test coming so early in the race, will the GC contenders take a conservative approach, or will some be tempted to grasp the opportunity to make differences? Only time will tell, but Team Sky's Geraint Thomas is expecting action.
An update from the Cyclingnews car at the Giro, which is nearing the finish line. Barry Ryan tells us that it's chilly and misty over the top of the fist climb, which seems to go on forever, without being difficult. At the base of Etna the conditions are sunny and clear.
121km remaining from 181km
Quick-Step are lined out on the front of the peloton with all their riders - the pink jersey of Fernando Gaviria last in line. They're setting out a steady, gentle rhythm at the moment.
6:15 is the gap now as the four breakaway men, still led by Polanc, are making considerably more effort than the peloton.
"We are not going to see the one who will win the Giro, but maybe the one who will lost it"
113km remaining from 181km
As the breakaway riders extend their lead to the seven-minute mark, questions must be asked of how this stage will play out, and whether they have any chance of staying away to the top of Etna.
110km remaining from 181km
106km remaining from 181km
Gaviria may only have one race day in the pink jersey but he also held it through the rest day and didn't waste the opportunity to show it off.
Susan here, jumping in for a while.
Everyone is still patiently wending their way up this not so steep but seemingly endless climb. Quick Step of course at the front of the peloton.
A Bahrain Merida riders has now moved up front, ahead of Quick Step. And the gap increases, heading up to 8:20.
Rohan Dennis has abandoned the race.
Dennis crashed near the end of stage 3, "seriously jarring his neck". We hope he is ok!
It is Luka Pibernik of Bahrain Merida who is leading the peloton now.
There was a moment of silence before the stage started this morning, in honour of Wouter Weylandt, who tragically died in a crash in this race six years ago today.
93km remaining from 181km
A two-man sprint to the mountain ranking, won by Janse van Rensburg. Much to the displeasure of Polanc, and we actually saw a little bit of pushing and shoving in anger after the line. And it is probably good that we couldn't hear what was being said.
Bahrain Merdia firmly in control at the front. Gaviria is about fourth wheel, looking around for his teammates and wondering why he is there....
87km remaining from 181km
Daniel Teklehaimanot (DI Data) has taken the next KOM points, leading the peloton over the summit.
Rohan Dennis gave it a try today, but his injuries from Sunday's crash were just too much.
78km remaining from 181km
We are having a series of punctures here. First Orica Scott, now Dimension Data.
Thanks to Susan for taking the reins briefly. It's Patrick back now, here to take you through the final 75km of this all-important stage.
The peloton is coming through the feed zone part-way down this descent, and doing so 5:40 in arrears of our four breakaway riders.
Vincenzo Nibali is believed to be the only of the principal contenders to have reconnoitred both climbs on today’s stage. According to Il Corriere della Sera, Nibali rode the final 130 kilometres of the stage in a little over five hours on the Tuesday after Milan-San Remo, using a camera to record the climb and descent of Femmina Morta and the final ascent to Mount Etna.
Crash. This descent comes through some narrow town roads with tight bends and Katusha's Alberto Losada has come down. He's on two feet but is clutching his shoulder.
Replays show Losada's bike in the middle of the road, the tyre loose from the wheel. The doctor arrives and, after a quick check, shakes his head. It looks like he'll play no further part in the race.
Replays show Losada's bike in the middle of the road, the tyre loose from the wheel. The doctor arrives and, after a quick check, shakes his head. It looks like he'll play no further part in the race.
61km remaining from 181km
The breakaway riders are off the descent and on the drag to the first intermediate sprint of the day.
Alafaci loses ground as the gradients ramp up quite severely. Brutt strikes out to mop up maximum points.
Here's a shot of Mount Etna to whet the appetite for what's to come
The peloton nears the intermediate sprint point and Gaviria skips away to mop up the final point.
50km remaining from 181km
Minor problem for Tom Dumoulin, who is off the back and among the cars as he tries to regain contact with the back of the bunch.
The road is heading gently downhill and we have just three riders out front, as they didn't wait for Alafaci after that intermediate sprint. The moustached Italian is chasing at more than a minute back.
Let's check in again with Barry Ryan, who's safely ensconced in the press room at the top of Mount Etna.
Quintana is off the back, chasing on with a couple of teammates. A comfort break for the Colombian, I think.
42km remaining from 181km
The three remaining breakaway riders press on. They're coming towards the second and final intermediate sprint.
Brutt once again takes maximum points at the sprint. This time he's unchallenged by his companions.
38km remaining from 181km
36km remaining from 181km
A reminder of the stage profile. Only a short climb and a portion of flat separate the riders from Mount Etna.
Gaviria once again clips off the front of the bunch to mop up the last intermediate sprint point.
Orica-Scott put birthday boy Svein Tuft, 40 years young today, on the front now. The Australian team were working for Caleb Ewan in the sprints earlier in the race but today it's all about Adam Yates, fourth overall at last year's Tour de France.
The breakaway still have a decent margin (six minutes) but, with other teams chipping in and raising the pace on the approach to Etna, it's highly unlikely that they'll be hitting the climb with enough of a lead to entertain hopes of the stage win.
Here's a first shot of Rohan Dennis climbing off his bike and into the BMC team car.
And here's Losada in the medical van
31km remaining from 181km
None of the overall favourites will want to be badly positioned going into the final climb, and there's plenty of movement now towards the head of the bunch.
Brutt is dropped from the break on this preliminary climb. Alafaci has just been caught by the peloton.
'Etna is my mountain'
26km remaining from 181km
A reminder that the final climb up Mount Etna begins with 17.9km remaining.
25km remaining from 181km
Plenty of riders joining Greipel in that early gruppetto. Gaviria is still at the front of the peloton.
Chris Juul-Jensen, Adam Yates' roommate and closest domestique here, drives the pace on the front of the bunch, as Movistar start to move up.
The road flattens out and even dips down now for the peloton. This is the approach to the climb, and the pace is really high now.
Trouble for Polanc as he overcooks a corner on a downhill section. He sprints back up to Van Rensburg.
Handbags in the peloton as Javi Moreno grabs Diego Rosa by the back of the jersey. It's getting aggressive out there.
19km remaining from 181km
It's absolutely full gas in the peloton on the approach to the climb. Riders are almost full on sprinting at times here.
LottNL-Jumbo take it up. Steven Kruijswijk is their man and said he's feeling confident today, despite already having lost 13 seconds on the opening day.
17km remaining from 181km
Big crash!
Confusion in the peloton as lots of riders misjudge a corner, some going the wrong way. Katusha riders are down. Lots more have been left behind having got it all wrong.
Crazy scenes at the Giro. We're not sure exactly if any GC riders have been affected by that.
There was a right-hand bend but the road was open ahead and no one seemed to know what line to take. Gaviria careered off to the left while the confusion behind started to cause the crashes.
Zakarin crashed, but it looks like he was back up quickly.
16km remaining from 181km
Kruijswijk also caught up there after his teammates had hit the front. He was quickly back up and away, though.
15km remaining from 181km
Bahrain and FDJ have men on the front of the peloton on the lower slopes of the climb.
Gaviria has sat up - that's the end of his spell in pink.
Tiralongo attacks!
We talked about the local lad, and indeed he serves up the first attack on Mount Etna. The Italian is over 7 minutes down on GC.
14km remaining from 181km
Problem for Van Garderen who doesn't crash but has to unclip. That's an unwelcome disruption for the American, who now finds himself towards the back of the bunch on these early narrow roads with a hard task to move back up.
Tiralongo is brought to heel.
Bahrain set the pace but Polanc is digging in here and is managing to hold his lead. He still has 3:50.
13km remaining from 181km
A reminder of the profile of the climb
Attack from Pierre Rolland!
The Cannondale-Drapac rider is turning his attention away from the Tour de France and GC this season, in favour of the Giro and stage wins. He has already lost a couple of minutes, which should put him in a strong position to earn the Cannondale team a first WorldTour win in two years on a day such as this.
Pello Bilbao (Astana) sets off in pursuit of Rolland but he's not making much of a dent for the time being.
10km remaining from 181km
Tiralongo has been dropped now. The dream is over. Plenty of other riders now finding themselves in difficulty, too.
Polanc pulls up alongside the UAE team car, where the DS mostly shouts 'vai!' (go!) out of the window. With 3:10 with 10km remaining, it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
Mechanical for Mikel Landa!
The Spaniard gets a wheel change but it's not a quick one. He's now chasing back to the peloton alone.
9km remaining from 181km
Landa, still alone, makes his way up through the cars now.
8km remaining from 181km
A Movistar rider follows. It's Winner Anacona.
Landa now has a teammate with him. Philip Deignan has received the order to drop back to pace the Sky co-leader back up.
8km remaining from 181km
Deignan brings Landa back to the bunch. The job is not done though - he'll need to get back up towards the front.
Polanc has a lead of 2:37 over Rolland. The peloton is 30 seconds back.
Pelizotti and Anacona have been brought back but remain near the front of the bunch for their respective leaders.
7km remaining from 181km
Back in the bunch Hermans continues to set pace. The overall favourites are up there towards the front but they're enjoying the swift but steady pace at the moment.
6km remaining from 181km
Attack from Igor Anton, the Dimension Data climber.
The Basque rider hardly gets a gap at all before being passed once again by Hermans.
5km remaining from 181km
5km remaining from 181km
Hermans pulls over and now Bahrain take it up with Pelizotti and Siutsou.
5km remaining from 181km
The peloton is really thinned out now as the riders make their way through the dark, ashen rock from the volcano.
It's still the calm before the storm in the peloton. The favourites look comfortable.
4km remaining from 181km
The peloton continues to thin as Siutsou hits the front. Quintana and Thomas are up there towards the front.
3km remaining from 181km
It's Siutsou, Thomas, Quintana, followed by three Astana riders and Pinot, who's moving up now.
Nibali, some way down in the group, swings over, just checking who was on his wheel. Lots will be watching him today.
3km remaining from 181km
The 26-year-old Danish climber gets a decent gap. No panic from the favourites.
Bob Jungels is still up there towards the front of the group. This climb will suit a diesel engine such as his.
The group is in echelon formation now - the wind must be blowing on the exposed mountainside. Carlos Verona takes it up for Orica as Siutsou pulls over.
Nibali attacks!
The Giro champion takes off under the 3km to go banner.
Quintana's teammate brings the Sicilian to heel.
That spells the end for Jesper Hansen.
2km remaining from 181km
That Nibali attack has provided a further selection in the reduced bunch. It has calmed down again slightly now.
Igor Anton goes again and is followed by Hansen, who now accelerates and drops the DiData man.
Hansen only has a small gap as the bunch comes back, led by Verona.
Dumoulin accelerates now! Pinot is on the wheel, same for Zakarin.
No gaps but it's lined out now as Zakarin comes through. And the Katusha riders goes now!
Wow. Zakarin gets a sizeable gap really quickly. He's away.
1km remaining from 181km
Zakarain's ungainly shoulders shake as he puts in maximum effort. Still waiting on a time check but he has a promising gap.
Polanc is straining with the effort. Can he do it?!
Final 500 metres for the Slovenian. He's going to do it. He still has more than 30 seconds.
Polanc comes towards the line as the gradients ease. He looks behind and knows he has it in the bag
Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) wins stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia
Polanc zips up the jersey and raises his arms in celebration as he comes to the line. Incredible stuff.
Zakarin crosses the line now, some 20 seconds back.
Here comes the bunch. They're not far behind. Thomas wins the dash for third.
Jungels finished in that group and so he should be our new race leader.
Pinot was fifth on the stage after sprinting against Thomas for those four remaining bonus seconds.
Zakarin finished 10 seconds ahead of the other favourites, and claimed 6 bonus seconds over all but one of them. That means he has almost recouped the 20 seconds he lost earlier in the race. A good day's work.
Stage top 10
An extremely happy Jan Polanc speaks to the TV cameras
General classification after stage 4
A first shot of the stage winner
Polanc sprays the champagne on the podium. And he's soon back again, pulling on the blue jersey as the new leader of the mountains classification.
Here's Tejay Van Garderen speaking to Eurosport
You can find our report page at the link below. Full results to follow shortly.
Bob Jungels wore the leader's jersey last year, and he's back in pink once again
And Jungels speaks
Here's Team Sky's Italian DS Dario Cioni speaking to Eurosport
You can find our full round-up of snap reactions at the following link:
We've just heard that Alberto Losada finished the stage. He was the last across the line some 38 minutes behind Polanc, but he finished, and that's an incredible feat. The Katusha rider was in real trouble when he crashed on the big descent. He was clutching his shoulder and we even saw him in side the medical van receiving treatment. Chapeau.
Fancy a comprehensive stage report, full results, and 40 photos? Look no further...
Jeremy Roy has just posted this photo on Twitter. The Frenchman crashed when some riders went the wrong way ahead of that final climb. OUCH.
So, that was the first big GC hit-out of the 2017 Giro, but it didn't serve up any significant time gaps, and neither did it give too much of an indication of a potential hierarchy.
We stay on Sicily tomorrow for stage 5, which finishes in Vincenzo Nibali's home town, Messina. It should be another opportunity for the sprinters.
That's it from us today. We'll be back here with full live coverage of that stage tomorrow, and in the meantime we'll have all the news and reaction from Mount Etna from our reporters on the volcano. Thanks for your company today. Ciao.
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