Welcome to LIVE coverage of stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia - the longest of the race at 254km and, perhaps, another chance for the sprinters to take the spoils ahead of a gruelling weekend in the Alps.

The longest stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia is under way!

Italian favourite Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) still holds a 41-second lead over the Australian veteran Cadel Evans (BMC) on GC, with Rigoberto Uran (Sky) in third at 2:04. After Wiggins' time loss yesterday, Robert Gesink (Blanco) moved up to fourth place at 2:12 while Michele Scarponi (Lampre) is now fifth, one second further down.

Yesterday, besides all the drama with Bradley Wiggins being tailed off in the rain, Britain's Mark Cavendish secured his 100th professional win in a sodden stage 12 to Treviso. After some expert work by his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team-mates, the 27-year-old took a fairly straightforward sprint win over French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) to complete a century of professional scalps as the world's best sprinter.

Wiggins is not the only big-name rider to leave the race: defending champion Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Sharp - who cracked in the first day of the mountains on Tuesday to lose more than 20 minutes - has withdrawn.

The big news today is that Britain's Bradley Wiggins has quit the race due to a chest infection. Wiggins was dropped by the main pack in the last hour of a rain lashed stage 12 on Thursday and finished three minutes and 17 seconds back on winner and compatriot Mark Cavendish. Rigoberto Uran is now the designated team leader for Sky.