Giro d'Italia 2019: Stage 4

Welcome to live coverage of stage 4 of the 2019 Giro d'Italia from Orbetello to Frascati. 

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Gaviria wins Giro d'Italia stage 3 after Viviani relegated
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Giro d'Italia: 'If they want trouble, they have it with finishes like this' say Deceuninck

Welcome back. It's already day four of the Giro d'Italia - I know time flies when you're having fun - and today's stage start is just a few moments away. 

Yetserday's stage might have been a slow burn, but there was plenty of drama after it finished with Elia Viviani relegated for an irregular sprint. In the end, the win was given to Fernando Gaviria - who said he didn't really want it. Viviani didn't speak after the stage, opting to ride straight to the team bus, but his team were pretty vocal in their displeasure. Read what they had to say here. 

There was no such drama for Primoz Roglic, who finished safely in the bunch to keep hold of his overall race lead. This is what the general classification looks like ahead of today's stage. 

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 10:21:01
2 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:19
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:23
4 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:28
5 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb
6 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:33
7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:39
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:40
9 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:42
10 Victor De La Parte (Spa) CCC Team 0:00:4

Here are the jersey wearers on the start line. Roglic in pink, Gaviria leads the points classification, Lopez in the white young rider's classification and Ciccone leads the mountains classification. 

Some surprising news coming in from UAE Team Emirates, as the team announce that Juan Sebastian Molano has been pulled from the race and provisionally suspended by the team following some "unusual physiological results" coming from one of their regular health examinations. 

The team has not elaborated further on the matter but says that Molano will undergo further tests in the coming weeks, in collaboration with the UCI. 

Without Molano, the race has got underway. We're through the neutral zone and racing proper has started. 

There is a bit of wind about this morning but nothing compared to what the riders had to deal with yesterday. The breakaway has formed quickly with three riders off the front already. 

The riders in the break are Marco Frapporti (Androni-Sidermec), Mirco Maestri (Bardiani-CSF) and Damiano Cima (Nippo-Fantini-Faizanè). All three of these riders have been on the attack already during this Giro d'Italia. In fact, they were all in the same breakaway on stage 2. They currently have 3:40 on the peloton. 

For the third day running, the stage breaches the 200km mark. It is not the longest stage of the race, but it is the longest so far at 235. With that in mind, the peloton was more than happy to let this breakaway go. Without wishing to dismiss the talents of the three riders in front, it is not the strongest move and it does not look like one that could challenge the peloton for the stage win. 

We've had one time trial and two sprint stages, and today is a test of the different kind. The tricky uphill finish will likely rule out most, if not all, of the sprinters. Mitchelton-Scott directeur sportif believes that we could see the general classification riders trying to test each other here. 

Ahead of the Giro d'Italia he told Cyclingnews: "This is the first little test for the GC boys since the opening time trial. It’s another long stage of 235km and that’s even further than the first version of the stage that was included in the initial road book because the organisers have changed the last 35km. When you came into Rome on the original course you almost hugged the outskirts of the city but now they’ve brought the race a little further out before the run-in. The finish line has moved one kilometre further up the road from when I first looked at it and it’s a little uphill finish. A bit like the opening time trial, we’ll see who has come into the race on hot form and who is still lacking that little bit of punch. The finale is undulating with a few ramps on the final climb but what you also have to remember is that this stage is 235km and that’s a solid day in the saddle. If Valverde was here then this would have been a perfect stage for him but it’s also a stage for anyone who has a bit of a kick in their legs after a long day. We could see the first change in the maglia rosa."

You can read Matt White's thoughts on all of the stages in the opening week here. 

From the organisers, this is a description of the final kilometres of today's stage. 

"The last 5km are initially downhill with some turns on roundabouts. Following that is an undulating stretch leading to the final 2.5km climb with slopes that average around 4-5 per cent and peak up to 7 per cent. The last kilometre is entirely uphill with a slope up to 4 per cent, and the final 250m straight is on a 6.5m wide asphalt road."

210km remaining from 235km

The gap to the escapees continues to grow and they now have eight minutes on the peloton. 

Scratch that, the gap has now gone up to 10:30. It shows that the peloton are not too worried about these guys out front if they are willing to give them so much space. Of course, they have a very long way to go until we get to the pointy end of the action.

Frapporti is actually the virtual maglia rosa as things stand. He is the best placed rider in the breakaway, after starting the day at 6:19 down. That will not be too much of a concern for him as he's currently locked in a battle for the intermediate sprint competition with Cima. Maestri is up there too, given he has also been out in the break so far during this Giro d'Italia. 

Nippo Vini Fantini is the only team that has been in the breakaway on every road stage so far during this Giro d'Italia. Cima got into the move on stage 2 and today, while Sho Hatsuyama went out there alone yesterday. In someway, it makes up for having one of their riders booted out for missing the time cut in the opening time trial. 

While this stage rumbles on, why not catch up with yesterday's action. You can find highlights of the stage here and our full report, gallery and results here. 

195km remaining from 235km

Meanwhile, the breakaway have crested the first and only classified climb of the day. We await confirmation of the results, though they will not worry Giulio Ciccone who holds a commanding lead in the competition at the moment. 

A competition lead that is up for grabs today is the breakaway competition. The kilometres spent in the break are added up for each rider and the rider with the most out front will win the competition at the end of the race - simples. Lukas Owsian currently leads the competition on 195km, the same distance as Giulio Ciccone and Francois Bidard. They were the last remaining out front on Sunday's stage. The others were dropped earlier, though Frapporti did get back on a few times and he sits fourth on 187. Frapporti won the breakaway competition last year

Confirmation of the KOM result has come through with Frapporti taking the maximum of three points, Maestri took second and - perhaps ironically given his name - Cima was last of the breakaway to crest the climb. 

The peloton has only just made it over the top of the climb some 12:20 behind the three leaders. There is no rush for the bunch at the moment. 

More on Elia Viviani's relegation yesterday. Viviani spoke to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport last night at the Deceuninck-QuickStep hotel. He told them that he was so angry about his punishment that he considered quitting the race in protest. You can read more about it here.

Reports of there being a crash in the bunch, though it is unclear who the rider/s involved is/are. In the meantime, the peloton is now 12:35 behind the leaders.

Here is the breakaway riding in arrow formation a little earlier on. 

Having let the breakaway build an advantage of over 12 minutes, Jumbo-Visma have upped the pace on the front of the peloton and brought it down to just over 11 minutes. There is still plenty of wind out on course, though not enough to do any real damage today. 

The riders are currently climbing but, as with a lot of the Giro, this is cruelly unclassified. Lotto Soudal have are pitching in with the work at the front of the peloton. 

Lotto Soudal will be working for Caleb Ewan today, though they have Jelle Vanendert as a secondary option. It's not a straightforward sprint today, but Ewan really showed his form with an uphill victory on Hatta Dam at the UAE Tour.

177km remaining from 235km

It is Thomas De Gendt doing the pace setting for Lotto Soudal and he has a FDJ rider in his wheel. Interestingly, Astana and Mitchelton-Scott are in third and fourth positions while Jumbo-Visma are the fifth team in the line.

Of course, FDJ have Demare as their sprint contender. Demare finished second yesterday, following the relegation of Viviani. Interestingly, Demare contested the intermediate sprint yesterday. Perhaps, he was mistaken that the points earned would count towards the points classification - like they do in the Tour de France. However, the intermediate sprints and points competition are separate at the Giro d'Italia. 

We have more on the Molano story that broke earlier today. You can read that here. 

The concerted effort from the peloton is doing some damage to the leaders' advantage. The gap is just 7:18 with a few more teams coming up to lend a hand. 

The rider on the front for Groupama-FDJ is Miles Scotson. He moved to the French team over the winter and this is his first Grand Tour appearance. He is a former Australian national road race champion and is also a pretty decent rider against the clock. 

Speaking to RCS' Jeff Quenet at the start of the stage, Viviani said more on yesterday's controversy. 

"I did my sprint and I am the first to say that I felt the contact, but I want to say also that it wasn't voluntary. If they want to follow the rules, we try to follow the rules. I'm curious to see if they follow the rules on the other days. 

Is today a sprint for you?

"It's a little bit hard but we're going to try."

163km remaining from 235km

There is some rain out there. Some unwelcome news for the riders. Some other unwelcome news is that Matti Breschel has reportedly abandoned the race. 

In Viviani, Demare and Ewan, I've named a few potential contenders for today's win. However, the uphill run to the line really opens up the number of riders who could take the victory. Over the next short while I'm going to entertain myself, and hopefully you, by running through a few more. 

Yesterday's official winner Fernando Gaviria is a contender for today. However, the team has another option in Diego Ulissi. As we head into the finish, we'll get a clearer idea of who the team is working for. Ulissi is probably the better option for them, but we'll have to wait and see. 

Matteo Moschetti, the rider that had the tangle with Viviani, should be up there for Trek-Segafredo. He finished second behind Caleb Ewan on Hatta Dam so he is not too shabby in an uphill finish. Moschetti is young and in his first season as a professional, but he has the capacity to mix it with the top riders already. 

Another sprinter to keep an eye on is, of course, Pascal Ackermann. The pressure is already off him after he won stage 2, and he's really gunning for this finale. He is well capable on a tricky finish like this and he's clearly on good form. 

Juan Jose Lobato is also one to watch on a finish like this. Like Ulissi, he's great on uphill sprints such as this. He's had some decent performances this season and kept his nose clean in recent days. He just has to be careful not to go too early as he did on a stage of the Tour of Turkey, where he was he was passed in the final metres by Caleb Ewan. 

Under normal circumstances, Enrico Battaglin would be a big favourite for the win today. However, it remains to be seen just how he's feeling after crashing yesterday. He was the third to last rider to finish and avoided any serious injuries, but his muscles might be feeling a bit stiff today after taking a heavy knock. We'll have to wait and see if he's feeling good. 

EF Education First have a potential contender in Sacha Modolo. He was a bit down on his chances on Sunday, but he managed 10th yesterday and could do a bit better in a slightly more selective sprint like today's. 

Of the GC contenders, Simon Yates is the type of rider that could take a couple of seconds on a finish like this. He could also be in with a shout on taking the stage win too. He'll have to keep an eye on Roglic, who can be pretty punchy when the mood takes him - that's cycling punchy not bar fight punchy. 

There are a few other riders that cold get themselves into the mix, such as Marezcko, Nizzolo and Cimolai. There is certainly no clear favourite, compared to previous days. 

Thus ends Sadhbh's selection, which is what I've decided to dub it. While all of this has been going on, the gap to the escapees has been fluctuating. It went down to seven minutes, but it is now back up at 7:43 as De Gendt and Scotson share the pace setting. 

In other news, I can confirm that the rider that crashed earlier on was Olivier Le Gac. This is the second time in the opening days that the Frenchman has hit the deck. He also came down in the finale of stage 2 and he'll be hoping that this run of bad luck does not come in threes. 

Primoz Roglic doesn't look like he's feeling very stressed today. He's enjoying his time in the pink jersey at the moment. Here he is fraternising with the enemy, Jan Bakelants. 

Some good news today is that the organisers of the Ladies Tour of Norway, Vargarda Sweden and the Danish Cycling Federation have announced a collaboration to create a new 10-day women's race. The new race will be called the Battle of the North. Read more about it here. 

The leaders have just gone through the first intermediate sprint of the day and Maestri went for a long one to take the full points. He was at the back of the line and launched his move several hundred metres out. Cima tried to catch up with him but didn't have enough in the legs to do so. Frapporti was not interested at all and didn't even react when he saw Maestri go past him. 

117km remaining from 235km

The pace has really ramped up now with FDJ stringing the peloton out with two riders working on the front. The gap to the leaders has dropped down to 6:29.

And the pace has now been knocked off, allowing the escapees to add 30 seconds back onto their advantage. Groupama-FDJ have added a third rider to the front to manage things. 

The riders have got quite a bit of undulating terrain until they reach the second intermediate sprint of the day. It comes 61 kilometres before the finish line so the breakaway should comfortably lead through it. 

For the first time in a while, we see Jumbo Visma making it towards the front. It's now just Scotson up there for Groupama-FDJ, and on his tail is the whole Jumbo-Visma team. So far today, they've been happy to let the sprint teams do a lot of the pace management and stay quite a bit further back in the peloton that we'd normally see the team of the race leader. There's still plenty more racing until Verona and any little saving of energy will be welcomed. 

Primoz Roglic has a chat with Laurens De Plus and gives him a firm pat on the back. De Plus has been an important rider for Roglic since moving to the team over the winter. Following his two serious accidents at the end of 2017 and start of 2018, it has been nice to see the Belgian showing off what he can do. It was a hard road to recovery for him, particularly after being hit by a truck during training in South Africa last year. 

Don't forget, we will have live coverage of the Tour of California later. The riders have already completed two stages and you can get up to date with all of the latest here. 

99km remaining from 235km

There was a touch of rain earlier on, but the sun is well and truly out at the moment. It seems like a lovely day out there now, even with a bit of wind at the moment. Just under 100km to go, with 135k already int he legs. 

Watching Grand Tours is as often about the scenery as it is about the racing and here is come cracking scenery. 

93km remaining from 235km

With Jumbo-Visma continuing to control things, the gap to the escapees is growing. It is now back over 8 minutes. They still have time to bring the trio out front back, but the gap is still going up little by little. 

It's too early to say, but maybe Jumbo-Visma are looking to shift the responsibility of the leader's jersey to someone else. If the breakaway was to take it, Frapporti would be the race leader. He started 6:19 down on Roglic this morning. 

Interestingly, if Frapporti was to take the maglia rosa for a few days it could scupper his hopes of taking the breakaway prize, because he wouldn't be allowed to go on the attack. I think he'd be quite happy to make that trade-off though. 

88km remaining from 235km

A puncture for Frapporti and he needs a wheel change. Savio gets out of the car to watch the mechanic make the change, and perhaps the nerves got to him because it was a pretty slow wheel change. Thankfully, there was plenty of time to make the change and Frapporti is easily back with the other two escapees. 

As the gap closed in on nine minute, Bora-Hansgrohe is the first of the sprint teams to blink and they put a rider on the front. UAE Team Emirates follow suit and put one rider up. The gap is slowly coming down now. 

More teams have come up to help out and the gap to the three escapees continues to drop. It looks like Jumbo-Visma were playing the bluff of the sprint teams. They were willing to lose the pink jersey and hoping to force the sprint teams to do the work on the front of the peloton. 

So, I've been doing a quick bit of research, and I don't believe that an Androni rider - or a rider for any of its past incarnations - has ever won the pink jersey. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Whatever the case, it is looking less likely that the break will stick now that the peloton has its act together. The gap continues to drop and it now stands at 6:46. 

Meanwhile, Matteo Montaguti is sans saddle at the moment. He's at the back of the peloton and looking over his shoulder for the team car. It's not clear how it came off but he won't be able to sit down until he has a new saddle. 

74km remaining from 235km

Towards the front of the peloton, Deceuninck-QuickStep have put Pieter Serry up to help out. Lotto Soudal have dropped back, so it's QuickStep, Bora-Hansgrohe amd UAE Team Emirates setting the pace. The gap is now 6:44.

If you have been watching the Tour of California - and even if you haven't - our reporter on the ground Pat Malach has analysed how the general classification looks after the mountainous stage 2. Read the full story here. 

The gap continues to tumble and Frapporti is no longer the virtual maglia rosa as the advantage is just six minutes now. 

62km remaining from 235km

Behind the three riders that have been set to work for the sprinters' teams, Jumbo-Visma have a full collection of riders up there Astana and Movistar are also well placed up there as the peloton strings out slightly under the pace. 

The advantage held by the three leaders is quickly coming down now and it's just 5:23 now. They were always going to need a mistake or a gift from the peloton to make this one stick. It looked like they might get a gift from Jumbo-Visma, but some of the other teams had different ideas. Now, it seems to be a case of when and not if they will be caught before the finish. 

@friebos Tue, 14th May 2019 14:09:49

52km remaining from 235km

The second intermediate sprint is fast approaching for the escapees as is the peloton, which is just 4:40 behind the three leaders. It won't be long before this comes together. 

In the peloton, Caleb Ewan pulls over to wait for the car. It seems he has some sort of mechanical issue, but it's not clear what. 

After finishing second in the first of the intermediate sprints, Cima takes the second one with Frapporti in second and Maestri in third. Cima should lead the intermediate sprint classification after that. Interestingly, Maestri didn't contest that one. 

Ewan is back on the peloton after his brief stoppage. He has some teammates to help bring him back up the bunch. 

47km remaining from 235km

The peloton goes through the intermediate sprint. Unlike yesterday, there was absolutely no contest for the remaining points and the peloton rolls through in formation. The gap has briefly expanded again to over six minutes while the peloton navigate their way through Mentana. 

A great shot of the peloton. This is from earlier because it is now Bora-Hansgrohe, Mitchelton-Scott and Bahrain-Merida up near the front. 

A lot more action from the GC teams near the front of the peloton. It's quite a technical finale and they want to ensure that their leaders are in the right place. It's unlikely that too much time will be lost today, but every second counts when it comes to the mountains and the time trials. 

38km remaining from 235km

The gap is yo-yoing about as things chop and change in the bunch. At the moment, the gap has been shut down to just under four minutes. You would imagine that the downward trend would continue given the proximity to the finish line. 

Before we reach the finish, this is what the profile looks like. As you can see, it dips down pretty sharply before a two-kilometre uphill ride to the line. 

Bahrain-Merida is now chipping in at the front and they've dragged the gap down to 3:21. Meanwhile, a brave flag man is nearly taken out by a couple of riders who have overcooked a corner. 

30km remaining from 235km

Gaps are beginning to form further down the peloton as the pace continues to stay high while they track down the three leaders. There will be plenty of tired legs in the peloton as they've already done over 200km today and there are 30 kilometres still to go. The gap is now just 2:47. 

We've now got Katusha-Alpecin joining the teams up front and Battaglin must be feeling ok, despite his crash yesterday. 

A few fans are getting a little close to the road in some of the towns. Mollema started waving his hand at some to move out of the way, while a fan on the other side of the road got out of the way just in time as the peloton barreled through. 

Conor Dunne has pushed to the front for Israel Cycling Academy with his sprinter Davide Cimolai in tow. If you want a man to get a slipstream from then Dunne is your man. 

24km remaining from 235km

Several teams with trains on the front, including Israel Cycling Academy, Katusha-Alpecin, Mitchelton-Scott and Astana. It has been interesting to see that Mitchelton and Astana have often been closer to the front throughout the last few days than Roglic. 

The gap is still coming down and sits just under two minutes. It feels a little like the calm before the storm. Maybe in a very literal sense, as there are some pretty dark clouds in the sky at the moment. 

Groupama-FDJ are back up front after taking a bit of a break from helping to set the pace. Arnaud Demare has not yet taken a win this season and they look like they believe in him on this finish. I'm not so sure about his chances, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. 

19km remaining from 235km

Up front, Frapporti and Maestri have pushed on and Cima has been distanced. It was Frapporti that upped the pace and Maestri was able to follow but Cima just didn't have the gas. They only have 1:20 on the peloton at the moment. 

Cima is still off the back of the group of leaders and it looks like his kilometres for the fuga competition might just be cone for the day. 

16km remaining from 235km

A mechanical problem for Lotto Soudal's Roger Kluge and that could e a blow for Cale Ewan. There is time to get back on, but it's energy he could do with having in the finale. 

Cima has been absorbed by the peloton and we have just Maestri and Frapporti out front now. Their advantage is only one minute now. How much longer can they stay out front?

Jan Bakelants is pulling on the front for Sunweb. He went on a random attack close to the finish of stage 2. It's unlikely that he will do that today. 

12km remaining from 235km

The pace is really ramping up in the peloton. The roads are really rolling here with a few tight turns to navigate. This is not an easy finish. Just 41 seconds left for the leaders. 

A crash in the bunch

James Knox is down for the second day running. Campenaerts has come down too. 

The incident happened near the back of the bunch on quite a narrow road. 

10km remaining from 235km

There is no hanging about from the peloton, the finish line is just 10km away and they can't afford to slow down just yet. The two leaders have just 10 seconds now. 

With 10km to go, we are gruppo compatto for the first time today. It's all about the stage win now. 

The GC teams are pushing to the front with Movistar present and correct, as are Ineos. Mitchelton, Jumbo-Visma and Sunweb continue to keep themselves up towards the front too. 

After getting caught just a few minutes ago, Frapporti has been shot straight out the back. He doesn't need to try and hang on, he'd rather save his legs for another breakaway another day - probably tomorrow. 

Viviani is right up towards the front and so is Ackermann and Cimolai. No sign of Ewan at the moment. 

I can also see Demare up there and Battaglin. 

6km remaining from 235km

The clouds are really dark at the moment and the riders are in as much of a race against the rain as they are against their rivals. 

A massive crash in the bunch

Several Katusha riders down, Chad Haga just got pulled out of a ditch nby one of the Jumbo-Visma riders. 

This has destroyed the peloton and there is a group of about 20 riders on the front now. Roglic is safe in the group, but I can't see any of the Sunweb or Mitchelton riders. 

In fact, it looks like Roglic might be the only major GC rider that has made it into that front group. 

Tom Dumoulin is chasing and he looks in pain, like he went down int he crash. 

Blood coming from Dumoulin's left knee. 

This all happened with six kilometres to go so there are a lot of riders that could lose a lot of time. 

Of the sprinters, Demare and Ackermann are up there. 

Dumoulin has stopped to chance bikes. 

A replay of the incident shows that one of the Ineos riders went down about 20 riders back. 

We're into the final two kilometres left and it's just 13 riders in the front group. Viviani and Carapaz are up there too. 

Ulissi is up there too and he is pushing on. 

That dig y UAE has dropped Viviani, who is now alone. 

QuickStep still has one rider up there in Senechal. 

Now just eight riders in this front group. 

Roglic is going to gain so much time here. 

Just spotted Ewan in that group too. 

We're indside the final kilomtre

Carapaz attacks

Roglic trying to follow

Ewan now chasing

Ewan is gaining on Carapaz

But he doesn't have enough and Carapaz wins the stage

That was utter madness!

A group containing, Nibali, Lopez, Yates and Jungels finishes 18 seconds down on the Roglic group. 

Mercifully for the other GC contenders, Roglic didn't get any bonus seconds. 

Dumoulin is just coming into the final kilometre. He has lost a lot of time. 

Dumoulin is surrounded by his team and he gets a huge cheer as he rides to the line. There is quite a bit of blood coming out of a point just above his knee. 

We'll have to wait a little while to see quite what that madness has done to the overall classification. 

Carapaz has quite a bit of time to make up in the GC after the first few days, but that win will not do him any harm. A few bonus seconds to boot will do just nicely. 

Carapaz pulled out a gap on the others in his group, meaning that he gained an additional two seconds on Roglic. The Lopez group finished 18 seconds back on Carapaz, so that's 16 seconds lost on Roglic. Disappointing, but not anywhere near as bad as it could have been. I will bring you updates on injured riders when I get the information. 

Tom Dumoulin lost 4:05 on Carapaz. You'd imagine that's his GC fight over, let's hope that it's not his race over. 

This is the stage top 10

1 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team 05:58:17
2 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
4 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:02
5 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
7 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
8 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:18
9 Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
10 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott

As was to be expected, Dumoulin has dropped out of the top 10. Bob Jungels has moved up into the top 10 now, as has Ulissi. Though the gaps have changed, there has been no movement in the top four. 

This is the new-look top 10 

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 18:19:20
2 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:35
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:39
4 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:44
5 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
6 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:49
7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:55
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:56
9 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:02
10 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:06

Diego Ulissi on today's finale: "We tried to do last two kilometres hard to shake out the sprinters. We did that but then Carapaz jumped us from behind. Then Ewan went and he was strong too. There was not much I could do after that."

Nicolas Portal reporting that it was Salvatore Puccio that was the Ineos rider that crashed. The Italian appeared to be looking over his shoulder when he touched wheels with another rider, sparking a massive incident behind. It was a difficult finish, so it seemed inevitable that something would happen. 

Here is a picture of Tom Dumoulin after the finish. You can see the blood coming down his left leg. 

As well as Dumoulin, Ben O'Connor lost a chunk of time as a result of the crash. The Australian came down int he crash and came across the line 1:49 down on Carapaz. Knox, who crashed earlier, lost almost 13 minutes. 

@ChadHaga Tue, 14th May 2019 16:17:07

Chad Haga might have gone down in the crash but it appears his sense of humour is intact. 

Meanwhile, we're hearing that Dumoulin is being taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital to get checked out. 

Katusha-Alepcin have reported that they had four riders crash in that incident at six-km to go. It was Marco Haller, Reto Hollenstein, Vyacheslav Kuznetsov and Daniel Navarro. Unfortunately, Navarro has been forced to abandon as a result of the crash. Meanwhile, Haller had some x-rays, which did not reveal any broken bones. 

Understandably, Dumoulin didn't speak to the press after the finish. His DS Michiel Elijzen had this to say:

"I don’t really know what happen. We were behind the crash and he told me by radio he needed a new bike and that he had pain in his knee and couldn’t bend it. That’s why he lost four minutes.

"Now he’s going to hospital for an x-ray. Just to check that nothing is broken. After we hope to know more.

I

"t’s a hard blow. We came to win the Giro but after four stages if you are four minutes from the leader, we’re not happy and Tom is not happy. We just have to wait and see if he can continue in the Giro. Maybe the GC is over but maybe we can try to win a stage. We also have the other team members. We have to stay positive but this is not a good day for us. This is also cycling."

Team Sunweb has reported that there are no broken bones for Tom Dumoulin, some good news for the Dutchman. 

That is all from our live coverage today. Tune in tomorrow for more Giro d'Italia action. In the meantime, you can continue your live fix with our coverage of the Tour of California.