Giro d'Italia 2017: Stage 9

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January 1 - May 28, Montenero de Bisaccia, Italy, Road - WorldTour

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Live coverage of stage 9 of the 2017 Giro d'Italia, which ends on Blockhaus for the second summit finish of the race.

 

Hello there, and a warm welcome to Cyclingnews' live race centre for full live coverage of stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia.

Yes, you join us on a hugely important day at this Giro. It's the second summit finish of the race and, after the anti-climax on Mount Etna on Tuesday, there's a real sense of occasion building here for the latest instalment in the battle between the overall contenders.

The crowds are gethering in th start town of Montenero di Bisaccia. The team buses have arrived and the riders are signing on, with the stage set to get underway at 13.00 local time. 

Stage preview

It's worth noting that the Blockhaus ascent is officially 13.65km long, but there's more to it than that as the road actually starts rising from 26km out, with a gentler rise and then a dip down preceding the climb proper. 

Here's how the GC looks heading into this all-important stage

Here's the race leader, Bob Jungels. Will he be able to hold on to that maglia rosa today? 

Big things expected of this man today

They're off

Yesterday we saw a fast and furious start to proceedings as it took 60km for a breakaway to form, and there is sure to be plenty of interest in getting up the road again today. Jan Polanc won from the break on Etna, and the GC teams won't want to over-exert themselves today ahead of Blockhaus. 

The flag is waved and stage 9 is officially underway. Here we go.

A few moves flying off the front of the peloton in the early kilometres. 

A group of around 10 has a slim lead. More riders juming from the peloton now, though.

Here are the 9 riders in the break. 

Bardiani-CSF have missed the boat and they're on the front of the peloton, driving hard to bring this back. THe gap is 35 seconds. 

Keisse isn't working in the break. We have an early intermediate sprint today, coming up in a couple of kilometres, and we could see the Quick-Step rider hit out to collect some points, protecting the points classification jersey on the shoulders of his teammate Fernando Gaviria. 

130km remaining from 149km

The gap has come down to 18 seconds. Bardiani are off the front now but others like Cannondale are looking to send riders up. 

There are three riders with a gap over the peloton. It's Pierre Rolland for Cannondale, the Frenchman following a move from Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto Soudal), along with Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates).

The peloton seems to ease up now. After doing all that work, Bardiani have missed another chance. 

The trio are in no-man's land at the moment, with a big fight on their hands. 

117km remaining from 149km

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Calm no more in the peloton. Canndonale are lined out on the front - yes, chasing down their own rider. That's because the nine leaders are pressing on with no interest whatsover in hanging around to let the chasing trio come across. 

111km remaining from 149km

Some of the riders up front, understandably, aren't too keen on the prospect of such a strong and experienced mountain rider as Pierre Rolland joining their ranks. He'd be the hot favourite if the break were to make it all the way.

Here's a first shot of the break

Cannondale begin to make inroads. They have cut the gap to the front of the race to 3:07. The Rolland trio is now 40 seconds behind the front of the race. 

The problem with the stubbornness in the break is that the longer Cannondale work, the less likely it is they'll be able to pull out a sufficient advantage by the foot of Blockhaus so as to entertain hopes of a stage win. 

96km remaining from 149km

What can we expect from Team Sky today?

Rolland, Marczynski, and Modolo are now just 20 seconds behind the break.

They're going to do it. They can see the tail end of the break. 

90km remaining from 149km

Rolland is panting as he hangs on to the back of the break. The break might have lost that one, but they'll have taken something out of the legs of the Frenchman, which could prove important later on. 

87km remaining from 149km

Movistar are on the front of the bunch now. The foot hasn't been taken off the gas. 

83km remaining from 149km

Photo: @giroditalia

“Because of the rest day after Blockhaus, it allows people to attack more, but I never calculate about the following day - if I have good sensations on Blockhaus, then I’ll attack."

Movistar lead the peloton

69km remaining from 149km

As Alasdair Fotheringham informs us, there are still snodrifts on the banks of the roads at the top of Blockhaus. Clear skies up there but it's still chilly. 

66km remaining from 149km

Bob Jungels is paced back to the bunch after stopping for a comfort break. The Luxembourger is facing a big test today if he wants to hang onto the maglia rosa. 

 Chieti is one of the oldest cities in Italy. No doubt many of the riders will feel equally old by the end of the day.

58km remaining from 149km

Fraile jumped from the group to take the second intermediate sprint, which was at the top of a climb within the city. Sanchez started to go with him, as he had won the first sprint, but soon let the Dimension Data rider go alone.

The peloton crosses the line 2:38 later, with Movistar, LottoNL-Jumbo and Trek Segafredo all at the front.

 The field has turned up teh speed again and is not longer bunched up together. The gap is going back down and the led group is starting to show some stress.

 Movistar continues to pull the field along, with the gap at 2:01 with 46.4km to go.

The gap keeps dropping dramatically, at 1:34 with 41km left on the day. 

Only about 15 km left before the climb starts.

This may not be a real climb but the road at the moment is definitely not flat. 

Nibali is trying something new today for this fearsome closing climb -- 38x30. He has used it in training but never before in a race.

The final climb comes closer and closer, and the gap is only 1 minute now.

Stefano Garzelli rode up (most of) the Blockhaus in a recon for RAI television in March (he had to stop 2.5km from the top due to snow). “Very few people really know this climb,” Garzelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’ve realised that because I’m getting a lot of phone calls. Bramati called me looking for information on it for Jungels, and he wasn’t the only one.”

30km remaining from 149km

More from Garzelli...

Movistar are still on the nose, though other teams are getting organised, BMC and Sky among those creating mini-trains and pushing their way forward. 

26km remaining from 149km

24km remaining from 149km

Rolland joins them, so we have three left out front. 10 seconds is their gap.

23km remaining from 149km

22km remaining from 149km

I say all together...The breakaway is done and dusted, though riders are starting to get spat out of the back as Movistar maintain a high pace on this gentle incline. 

Here's a more detailed look at the Blockhaus climb

20km remaining from 149km

A final call for our stage preview, which takes a detailed look at Blockhaus with the help of local lad Dario Cataldo. 

As Barry Ryan writes: "The opening slopes of the climb are relatively gentle, flitting between 7 and 4%, but the real hostilities begin once the road kicks up to above 9% with a shade under 10 kilometres to go. From there to the summit, the average gradient is a tough 9.4% and the Blockhaus quickly becomes an unremitting grind."

17km remaining from 149km

Huge crash!

The police motorbike has taken out a huge swathe of the peloton, including many Sky riders.

Geraint Thomas is down. He's back on his feet but his Giro is surely over.

Yates also involved

Incredible scenes

Landa also caught up. Sky's Giro is in tatters.

The police moto was stopped on the side of the road. It wasn't quite on the grass verge and the riders on the left shouldered into it, causing many riders to come down. 

13km remaining from 149km

Yates is chasing with teammates. It doesn't look like he came down - maybe just caught up. He faces a huge battle to keep his hopes alive.

Thomas and Landa are both back on their bikes. Landa is up ahead with a teammate and struggles on. Thomas is well, well back but isn't throwing in the towel.

Another motorbike incident. Thankfully no one has been seriously injured but it is awful to see these incidents have such a huge impact on the outcome of the race. 

12km remaining from 149km

It was Wilco Kelderman who hit the moto first, it seems. Tom Dumoulin was unaffected, I believe. 

Thomas now has two teammates with him.

Quintana looks calm tucked behind his teammates. Nibali is up there just behind with a couple of teammates. 

Thomas is 2:30 down as he and his teammates try to make their way back up. 

Landa dropped. It seems like the Giro hopes are over for the Spaniard.

9km remaining from 149km

Thomas, Landa, Yates the only three riders disrupted by that crash, it seems. 

Thomas has just Sebastian Henao with him now. They're 2:40 back. 

Bob Jungels is struggling...

8km remaining from 149km

The peloton continues to thin. We're starting to see a real selection now. 

Yates is in the cars. We don't have a time check for him at the moment. 

11 or 12 left out in front. 

Movistar lead the way with two riders for Quintana. What a day they've had. Nibali is fourth wheel without a teammate. Then it's Kruijswijk, Pinot, Mollema, Pozzovivo, Formolo, Dumoulin.

And Zakarin at the back of the group.

Van Garderen dropped!

The American loses contact and joins forces with Jungels. 

Zakarin struggling now. The Katusha rider has lost the wheel, along with Formolo.

7km remaining from 149km

We have a clear selection of nine riders. Two of them are teammates for Quintana, who's the only one with support here. 

Van Garderen is in a small group with Jungels and Pelizotti. They;re lsoing time though.

6km remaining from 149km

Nibali, arms tucked over his bars, closes the gap in casual fashion. Pinot also follows.

Those three out in front. The others can't follow.

Pinot accelerates now

Quintana follows while Nibali stays calm and closes the gap slowly but surely. 

Kruijswijk is in trouble. He's losing the wheel of the chase group now, which is being led by Dumoulin. 

6km remaining from 149km

Quintana attacks again!

Nibali looks incredibly calm. The Italian, tucked down low, remains patient and claws his way steadily back to the Colombian.

Dumoulin, Pozzovivo, and Mollema have formed a chasing trio. 

Jungels and Van Garderen are 1:10 down now. 

An update on Thomas. He's still 2:35 down. He's diggin in admirably but this has been nothing short of disastrous.

Quintana accelerates again

5km remaining from 149km

Dumoulin, Mollema, and Pozzovivo are at 15 seconds. They're riding well here. 

Quintana puts in a big attack now as the gradients hit the double digits.

This time Nibali has a real job on his hands to close him down again....but he's looking good for it, again.

But Quintana kicks again. And this time the elastic is stretching...

4km remaining from 149km

Quintana is away. The Colombian, who's going for the Giro-Tour double, said he'd get stronger in the third week of this race, but he's clearly near his best here. 

Nibali is in trouble. Pinot accelerates and, sensing weakness, kicks again.

Pinot rides away from Nibali.

Jungels and Van Garderen are 2:10 down. 

Dumoulin and Mollema have dropped Pozzovivo and they're closing in on Nibali.

3km remaining from 149km

Big trouble for Nibali. He can't keep up with Dumoulin and Mollema. 

Quintana drives out of the saddle again as Pinot looks like he's fading.

Dumoulin and Mollema claw their way back to Pinot. Great riding from the Dutch duo.

So, Quintana leads the stage by 30 seconds over Pinot, Dumoulin, and Mollema.

2km remaining from 149km

Dumoulin grabs the wheel of Pinot once more. A gap opens to Mollema, whose tongue is out as he's forced to really dig in. 

This is quite some ride from Dumoulin, whose work on his climbing seems to have paid huge dividends, no matter the damage to his time trialling. He's leading Pinot here, with Mollema losing ground.

1km remaining from 149km

Quintana springs out of the saddle once again, takes one last swig of his bidon before chucking it aside, and makes his way through the barriered section. This is going to be a famous win.

Nibali already a minute down. Damage limitation now.

Nairo Quintana wins stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia

The Colombian rounds a fast bend as the road dips downhill before sprinting for every single second.

Herre come Pinot and Dumoulin. Pinot takes second place. They were 24 seconds back.

Here comes Mollema. He loses 40 seconds.

Nibali in the home straight now. 59 seconds is the damage.

Next up is Pozzovivo, alone, who finishes 1:17 down.

Tanel Kangert is the next rider home.

Zakarin comes to the finish now. He stops the clock 2:13 down on Quintana. 

Davide Formolo finishes 2:35 down.

And now Kruijswijk finishes with Quintana's teammate andrey Amador, 2:45 down. 

Here comes the maglia rosa, Bob Jungels. He sprints for the line with Jan Polanc, but the pink jersey is gone. 3:30 is the damage.

Van Garderen is paced to the line by a teammate. He has lost 3:45 today.

Here's Yates in a small group. The white jersey, who crashed in that moto incident. 4:37 lost.

Thomas, jersey open, grazes all over his body, comes to the line now. A brave fight, but 5:05 conceded. 

What a stage we have seen!

The moto, Sky's disaster, Quintana's superiority, Nibali's weakness, Dumoulin's strength....

Stage top 10

Remember last year at the Tour de France, when Froome, Porte and Mollema crashed into a moto on Ventoux? Organisers re-set their times on that day. This was a different situation, with the crash coming before the climb had even begun, but there are similiarities. 

Here's how the GC now looks

Our first finish line shot is in

Eurosport grab a word with Jose Luis Arrieta, Movistar DS. 

A crowd of reporters gather around Geraint Thomas, including Cyclingnews' Barry Ryan. 

Tom Dumoulin speaks now. A really strong ride and result for him but his teammate Wilco Kelderman has abandoned the Giro after being the first rider to hit the moto. 

Quintana heads out onto the podium to spray the champagne and then out again to collect the maglia rosa. 

Here's Quintana

Our man Alasdair Fotheringham is among the throng of reporters getting the reaction of Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford. 

Brailsford is asked where his team goes from here. 

The new maglia rosa

We've rounded up the snap post race reaction into one handy place.

Here's our report page, with a comprehensive account of the action and chaos, along with full stage results and plenty of photos

This is the moment Quintana made the stage-winning attack

Tomorrow is a rest day and a chance to take stock, but coming right up after that is another big GC day - the 40km stage 10 time trial. 

We'll be back here for full live coverage of that time trial. In the meantime, keep your eyes on the www.cyclingnews.com for all the reaction to today's chaotic stage - and there's plenty of it to come. Thanks for your company today. 

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