Welcome to live coverage of stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia, a 206km trek into the Alps from Cherasco to Cervinia. It's the first big summit finish of the race, so expect the GC riders to come out and play - or to plummit down the overall standings.

It's hard to see who's controlling the peloton because they're all wearing long sleeved rain jackets. With the leaders, it's Olivier Kaisen setting the pace. The Belgian looks in control as he flicks his shoulder and urges Barta through. And the Czech not only does so, but carries on! He's going for it on his own!

Ah, we have live pictures as the leaders start the Cat.1 Col de Joux. The weather looks horrendous: wet and cold, that's for sure. The gap is 12:55 back to the peloton, which is still trundling along the valley below.

Yesterday, pink jersey Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha told Eurosport: "Tomorrow will be cold and I hope I'll over come the weather conditions. I think Liquigas will probably try and control the race." The Spaniard knows that the stage to the Slelvio next weekend is the Giro's queen stage, but he's aware that today's stage - because of the weather - could be decisive.

There are still no TV images from the host broadcasters - probably because of the terrible weather on those final climbs. We'll try our best to bring you the latest until things become clearer.

We're approaching the first climb - and still the lead grows. 12:30 is the latest check.

Our eight leaders now have 11:36 over the peloton, so the gap is stabilising. Of course, all will change with the two massive climbs up ahead. It's still very wet at the finish. No snow, as initially feared, but it's cold and pretty miserable. The kind of stage Eddy Merckx would have loved...

The lead is now 11 minutes and so Barta is not far away from that virtual pink jersey. The Czech rider is currently 14:34 down on Rodriguez in the GC.

None of the leading group have won a stage in the Giro d'Italia before. For Barta, Oliviera, Maes and De Negri, this year's race is their first ever appearance in the world's second biggest stage race.

And still the lead grows: it's over the nine-minute mark as the eight leaders approach the feeding zone.

The gap continues to grow: it's over eight minutes now. Will they stay out in front to contest the win? Have your say below in the comments section...

The leaders are onto a small rise in this otherwise flat opening two-thirds of the stage. The final 65km today include 50km of climbing. The Col de Joux is 22.5km long with a gradient of 7%. A testing descent leads to Saint Vincent and the intermediate sprint at Châtillon after 178.0km, just before the 27km climb to the finish. The road climbs at an average of 5.5%. The climb is a categorized 1 climb, with an altitude of 2001m after 206km of racing.

The gap is now 6:22 for the eight leaders. But with those huge climbs ahead - plus the terrible weather at the finish (rain and cold temperatures) - they'll probably need a lot more to make this stick.

Interesting to see riders from both AG2R and RadioShack in the break: they are the two Pro Tour teams with the fewest wins this season. After AG2R's double flurry yesterday, they are locked on two apiece.

The eight leaders have quickly established a large lead over the peloton. The gap is currently 4:25 and growing. They'll need 10 more minutes for Barta, the best placed rider, to move into the virtual pink jersey, mind.

The leading eight-man group: Jan Barta (NetApp), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack Nissan), Matteo Montaguti (AG2R-La Mondiale), Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Alessandro De Marchi (Androni Giocattoli), Pierpaolo De Negri (Farnese Vini), Olivier Kaisen (Lotto Belisol).

BREAK: Finally we have some action after a move instigated by Lotto Belisol's Olivier Kaisen. The Belgian has been pretty active in this year's race. He's out ahead with seven riders and the gap is slowly growing. Names coming right up.

It has been a fast start today, despite the looming climbs. The average speed for the first hour of racing was 50.8 kmh.

Before the riders left Cherasco this morning, a minute’s silence was held to remember the two school children killed today by a bomb at a school in Brindisi, in the south of Italy. The blast, which was thought to be linked to the Mafia, also injured six children.

Today's stage should also shake up the youth standings as well. It's quite tight here, with Italy's Damiano Caruso (Liquigas) currently in the white jersey. He leads Rigoberto Uran (Sky) by eight seconds, with another Colombian from Sky, Sergio Henao, in third at 25 seconds.

Still no break to report. // In the comments section below, Derek asks "why is Hesjedal not considered in the list of overall­ contenders?". Derek, you have to borrow Tyler Farrar's Transitions lenses - Ryder is there in the list, see the comment on 195km.

While the likes of Rodriguez, Scarponi, Schleck, Kreuziger, Basso and Uran will all be motivated, there are many others to consider for the win. Gadret needs to recoup time, Dupont has been quiet, Rujano and Pozzovivo are superb climbers, Moreno may take the pressure off his team-mate J Rod, Tom Slagter looks a real talent, Juan Manuel Garate has pedigree, while Spaniards Mikel Neive and Benat Intxausti are dark horses.