Buongiorno! It's the final day of Tirreno-Adriatico and a 10km time trial is set to decide the title. Just three seconds separate first place from second so it's all to play for.
Liam Bertazzo (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia) rolls down the start ramp to get the stage underway. He's the first of 139 riders taking to the course today, setting off in reverse order of the general classification at intervals of one minute and then - as we reach the top 15 - two minutes.
Here's the course. 10km long and pan-flat. A simple out-and-back affair along the waterfront in San Benedetto del Tronto on Italy's Adriatic coast.
Here are some of the early starters out on the course now. Ganna, individual pursuit world champion on the track, could set a decent early benchmark.
1 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 13:15:00 2 Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 13:16:00 3 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 13:17:00 4 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 13:18:00 5 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 13:19:00 6 Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 13:20:00 7 Marco Coledan (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 13:21:00 8 Maarten Wynants (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo 13:22:00 9 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 13:23:00 10 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 13:24:00 11 Marc Sarreau (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 13:25:00 12 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb 13:26:00 13 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 13:27:00 14 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 13:28:00 15 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy 13:29:00
The battle for the blue jersey, however, will come to a boil much later on, with race leader Michal Kiwatkowski (Team Sky) the last rider off at 15:48 local time.
For a full list of start times, we have you covered right here.
RT @TeamSky: A bit of course reconnaissance from race leader @kwiato. Just 10 kilometres remain to decide #TirrenoAdriatico https://t.co/Vh…
Here's how it stands. Over such a short distance, it would appear to be a two-horse race between Kwiatkowski and Caruso, while Thomas will be hopeful of making up the six seconds needed to replace Landa on the final podium.
General classification after stage 6
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 25:21:22 2 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:03 3 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:23 4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:29 5 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:34 6 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:36 7 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:37 8 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:39 9 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:41 10 Jaime Roson (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:47
Some decent early times being posted here. Ganna sets 11 minutes 42 seconds, Bodnar 11:44, and Phinney 11:55.
But Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) now sets the new fastest time of 11:38.
Alex Dowsett (Katusha-Alpecin) and Stefan Kung (BMC), both strong time triallists, are out on the course.
Mads Pedersen, Mullen's teammate, has set a new fastest time of 11:22.
Dowsett stops the clock on 11:58. That's the seventh quickest time so far.
11:44 for Mathias Brandle. Trek are having a good start to the day.
11:47 for Kung, just 6th fastest so far.
Warm-up time for @gatto_oscar @DarioCataldo and @andrei_007 #AstanaProTeam #TirrenoAdriatico https://t.co/QfTfVNqjMw
BMC's Patrick Bevin slots into second place with 11:37. A strong rider from him and he'll now head back to base to feed back the intel on the course to his teammate Caruso.
Sunweb's young talent Lennard Kamna comes towards the end of his ride after nearly riding into a police motorbike through a corner. He goes into fourth place with 11:39.
Filippo Pozzato joins Francesco Moser and Manuel Quinziato as the rider with the most Tirreno-Adriatico finishes, 13.
Rohan Dennis rolls down the ramp. The Australian won the ITT title at his national championships in January before winning the time trial at the Abu Dhabi Tour. He also helped BMC to victory in the team time trial on the opening day of this race.
There goes Dennis
Wasn't my day. No power in the legs. this #TirrenoAdriatico was really hard, and the recovery from the crash on stage 2 cost some energy too
As well as Dennis and Campenaerts, the Spanish time trial champion Jonathan Castroviejo is also out on course. He finished second behind Dennis in Abu Dhabi, which was a 12.6km course. He has such a compact figure and has to be one of the most naturally aerodynamic riders out there.
The San Benedetto del Trento time trial has become something of a tradition for the final day of Tirreno-Adriatico. These seafront roads are now familiar, and especially so after Peter Sagan went viral last year in swerving out of the way of an errant dog walker. Remember that?
Dennis passes his minute man, Clement Venturini, and comes into the final kilometre. He set 11:18 last year.
Rohan Dennis stops the clock on 11:14. That'll be hard to beat.
Castroviejo comes into the final kilometre and he's going to run Dennis close.
11:22 for Castroviejo, who goes into second place provisionally.
European champion Victor Campenaerts stops the clock on 11:37 for fifth place as it stands.
So many good time triallists in the first half of this stage. Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Michael Hepburn (Mitchelton-Scott) set off back-to-back - they finished second and third respectively behind Dennis on the final day last year.
Secondo miglior tempo provvisorio per @jcastroviejo (11'22") | Second provisional time for @jcastroviejo (11'22")… https://t.co/OCb4p1UCQH
Marcel Kittel won the two bunch sprints in this race but can also turn in a decent short time trial - his speciality as a youngster. The German is already back in the bus after posting an unremarkable time, but the big news surrounding him today is that he'll ride Milan-San Remo this weekend for the first time in his career. Here's the full story:
Van Emden is in the final kilometre and on for a very strong time.
11:18 and second place for Van Emden. That would have won the race last year as the Dutchman beats his time by three seconds.
Hepburn comes to the line now but he won't be back on the podium. 11:27 and fifth place provisionally for the Australian.
Van Emden was on a new Bianchi TT bike, which Primoz Roglic will also ride later on. Hand-painted in Italy by Bianchi's master craftsmen, we're told. Their TT bikes are usually black but this one goes all in on the celeste.
Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) is underway. He's the Italian national time trial champion.
Dark clouds looming over San Benedetto del Tronto, and the general classification contenders might be racing in the rain. They'll all face roughly the same conditions, but rain would be music to the ears of Rohan Dennis.
Dennis might want some some rain sooner rather than later....Gianni Moscon is one second up at the intermediate checkpoint at 4km.
We're so used to seeing Tony Martin in the world champion's skinsuit, but here he is in that of German national champion. Martin isn't the dominant force of old - what can he muster today?
Moscon rips past his minute-man Scott Thwaites.
Here comes Moscon and he's just over 10:20 under the flamme rouge. He's going to fall short.
Moscon stops the clock on 11:26 to take fifth place provisionally. The Italian champion faded in the second half of the course but that's nevertheless a very strong ride.
Quinto miglior tempo per @GianniMoscon | Fifth best time for @GianniMoscon #TirrenoAdriatico https://t.co/sdq8728VCK
Jack Bauer (Mitchelton-Scott), who started the TT with a rip in the sleeve of his skinsuit, posts a time of 11:27.
Former world time trial champion Vasil Kiryienka set the fastest time at the checkpoint, three seconds faster than Moscon, but he too is fading.
11:32 and 8th provisionally for Kiryienka.
11:31 now for Luke Durbridge. Some strong times from Mitchelton-Scott today.
And now Chris Froome is on the ramp. It'll be interesting to see what the Tour de France champion does here. He's way down on GC and has been working for Thomas and Kwiatkowski, but obviously is a very strong time triallist.
Peter Sagan is out on the course, too. No dogs in sight just yet. Sagan didn't win the stage yesterday but won hearts with the way he dramatically came back into contention after being held up by a late crash. Here are his thoughts:
11:34 for Chris Froome, who's in the top 10 provisionally.
20 riders left to start.
Roglic is far from smooth as he constantly has to nudge his backside back onto the saddle. He's still on his way to a solid time but he won't be challenging Dennis.
11:32 and ninth place provisionally for Roglic.
11:41, by the way, for Tony Martin, who won't be troubling the top 20.
Kwiatkowski and Thomas are warming up now, and receiving the intel from Froome.
Romain Bardet (AG2R) is off, and it'll be interesting to see how the Frenchman will go. Time trialling is such an obvious weakness of the Frenchman's and he admitted he needed to do more work after almost losing his podium place on the final day of last year's Tour.
The rain is coming down much more heavily now.
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is off.
Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) is unable to trouble the top 10 with 11:39.
The riders are now setting off at two-minute intervals. Here's a reminder of the start times.
Fabio Aru, 11th overall at 1:19, is away now.
Here we go, then. The business end. We're about to head into the top 10. Here's a reminder of how it stands on GC.
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 25:21:22 2 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:03 3 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:23 4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:29 5 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:34 6 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:36 7 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:37 8 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:39 9 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:41 10 Jaime Roson (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:47
Caruso has beaten Kwiatkowski in the last two ITTs at Tirreno. No wonder Kwiatkowski went for those bonus seconds. BMC shut him down and it could be a lot closer than many expect. https://t.co/baZe53ULb0
The rain is coming down hard now and the roads are wet with surface water. It's not a technical course but there are obviously a couple of tight bends at the turning-point of the course, and we see Nibali take it very gingerly indeed.
Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), in the white of best young rider, rolls down the ramp. The young Belgian is a real talent and a top 10 overall finish here would be another impressive result for him after his Strade Bianche victory earlier this month.
George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) is underway, too.
Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe) is next down the ramp.
Nibali stops the clock on 12:13 for 58th place.
Here comes Rigoberto Urán (EF-Drapac). The Colombian is 5th overall at 35 seconds and cane turn in a decent time trial.
Aru crosses the line and loses four seconds to Nibali, and with it his 11th place.
Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) set off just before Urán. He's not best suited for a course such as this.
Geraint Thomas certainly is suited to this course. The Team Sky rider, winner of the opening stage of last year's Tour de France, is off the start ramp as he begins his bid for the podium. There are whispers about him snatching the overall title, but 29 seconds is a huge amount to gain on someone like Kwiatkowski over such a short course.
The roads are soaking wet as Thomas negotiates the early metres, building up speed before settling into his TT bars.
Mikel Landa (Movistar) rolls down the ramp now. The Spaniard is a better time triallist than many give him credit for - as evidenced on the penultimate day of last year's Tour - but he needs to limit his losses to Thomas to five seconds in order to keep his podium place.
Damiano Caruso (BMC) gets his ride underway. He's beaten Kwiatkowski here two years in a row. A third would give him the Tirreno-Adriatico title and the biggest achievement of his career.
12:01 for Benoot. 43rd on the stage so far. He could move up a couple of places.
Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), the race leader, rolls down the start ramp. That's everyone out on the course. The blue jersey is in play.
Thomas is nine seconds down on the fastest time at the checkpoint - five seconds down on Dennis' time.
12:12 for Formolo.
12:08 for Adam Yates.
That means Benoot leapfrogs both Formolo and Yates as he moves from 8th to 6th overall. He could still make the top five if Urán is five seconds slower.
The roads are much drier now at the midpoint of the course.
12:22 for Urán. He does indeed slip down, into 8th, I believe. Not a good final day for the EF-Drapac rider.
Thomas is into the final kilometre
11:37 for Thomas. That's 12th fastest so far.
Landa's coming in now. He needs 11:43 for the podium.
Dennis is still in the hoteseat and pretty much assured of the stage win.
Landa is going to be above 12 minutes at this rate and therefore lose his podium place.
12:24 for Landa. Not good from the Spaniard. He's off the podium and indeed slips well down the standings. Benoot goes above him, too.
Here comes Caruso...
Caruso stops the clock on 11:55. That 18 seconds slower than Thomas.
Caruso holds off Thomas but it doesn't look like he'll overhaul Kwiatkowski, who was up at the checkpoint and is holding firm in the latter part of the course.
Kwiatkowski needs 11:58 but has lots of wiggle room.
11:34 for Kwiatkowski.
Michael Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) wins the 2018 Tirreno-Adriatico
Rohan Dennis (BMC) wins the final stage
Michał Kwiatkowski vince la #TirrenoAdriatico 2018! | Michał Kwiatkowski wins the #TirrenoAdriatico 2018! https://t.co/rLhOxPonVX
1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:11:14 2 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:04 3 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky 0:00:08 4 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 5 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:12 6 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:13 7 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 8 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:17 9 Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:18 10 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky 0:00:18
In terms of the overall, it's Kwiatkowski, Caruso, Thomas on the podium, followed by Benoot with an amazing leap from 8th to 4th.
Apologies for an error in our earlier GC. Here's the correct version.
Final general classification
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 25:32:56 2 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:24 3 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:32 4 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:06 5 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:10 6 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:13 7 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:15 8 Jaime Roson (Spa) Movistar Team 9 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:16 10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:01:22
"To be honest I was nervous about it. I was looking at the best times on the course and was thinking 'what do i need to aim for?'" says Rohan Dennis in his stage winner's TV interview.
"In the end I said need to try and go faster than last year to win, and in the end that was right because Jos went faster than than my time last year."
On Fabian Cancellara's course record of 11:08, set in 2016, Dennis adds: "Maybe one day, hopefully. It would be great to have the fastest time on this course but in the end it's different conditions on different days. I'm just happy i won today, it's a confidence boost going forward."
Thomas steps out onto the podium and heads to the second step before before being guided to his proper place. The Welshman sees his teammate on the top step but there must still be a sense of disappointment after that mechanical lost him vital time on stage 4. He lost 36 seconds to Kwiatkowski, Caruso et al that day... 32 seconds is his final deficit to the winner
"It's a good result for me, really good," says Damiano Caruso.
"Everyone knows my story of this week and now I'm really happy because it's a good result for me, for the team, and now for the next races I'm more confident. For the moment I'm satisfied.
"Kwiatwkoski is a really strong guy. This morning I knew it'd be really difficult to beat him today but I tried to do my best and in the end it's good like this."
"I don't actually know the final result - just that I won, and that's all that matters," says Kwiatkowski after coming down from the podium.
"It was very nervous. When I was warming up it started raining so I was scared something might go wrong. I had to go with lower tyre pressure. It was tricky, I don't know if there were crashes but there were a couple of corners, and anything could happen. I had to be careful but I had good feelings today and that's why I could finish so well.
"It's been a difficult week for all Team Sky, we had some bad luck with Geraint Thomas, but at the end of the day we were motivated to have a really good race and that's how it was. I put myself close to the GC at the beginning with a great TTT and that's how I could win overall. It's a great feeling to have this trident trophy with me."
Here's Thomas...
"For sure it was a lot slower in the corners because of the rain. I didn't want to crash, that's for sure. I knew stage win wasn't going to happen, it was just a matter of trying to get on the podium. The gap to Caruso was just too big. It's nice to turn it around and come back up to third, so I'm pretty happy with that.
"On a personal note it was really disappointing, that mechanical on the mountain stage. It cost me the race, personally, but at least the team was strong enough to still win.
"Hopefully it's third time lucky next year, or just no bad luck. That's all I need: no bad luck."
Plenty of photos from the podium and the time trial itself in the gallery that accompanies our report. You can also browse the results.
That's it from us today and that's it from Tirreno-Adriatico. Thanks for joining us over the past week, and double points if you followed Paris-Nice with us as well. A few days without live race coverage now, but we'll be back here on Saturday for a big one: Milan-San Remo. Hope you'll join us then, and in the meantime keep an eye on Cyclingnews for all the reaction from Tirreno and build-up to the first Monument of the season.
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