Giro d'Italia 2020 Stage 4 - As it happened
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Updated 09/10/2020 at 09:11 GMT
Relive another day of drama at the Giro d’Italia as Arnaud Demare edges a three-way photo finish to win Stage 4. Geraint Thomas did not start Monday’s stage from Catania to Villafranca Tirrena after fracturing his pelvis on Monday.
Arnaud Demare | Stage 4, Giro d'Italia
Image credit: Getty Images
Almeida stays in pink
There's no change at the top of the standings with Portugal's Joao Almeida holding onto pink; in fact, thanks to those two bonus seconds in the sprint, he extends his lead to... two seconds over Jonathan Caicedo on GC. Thanks for joining me today and see you tomorrow as the race hits mainland Italy for Stage 5.
Victory confirmed for Demare
After a long wait the result has finally been confirmed:
1. Arnaud Demare
2. Peter Sagan
3. Davide Ballerini
3. Andrea Vendrame
5. Elia Viviani
2. Peter Sagan
3. Davide Ballerini
3. Andrea Vendrame
5. Elia Viviani
Confusion reigns...
It has still yet to be confirmed but Demare is being led to the podium area so we can assume he took the win ahead of Sagan and Ballerini.
Demare wins Stage 4
Looking at the replays, I'd say the Frenchman won that... It looked like that from the front but the commentators were not sure... this photo seems to show that Demare has it by a centimetre...
Photo finish!
Peter Sagan surged clear but it looked like Arnaud Demare took it thanks to his superior lunge... we'll have to wait for confirmation on that one... with Davide Ballerini perhaps in third.
1km to go: Groupama go clear
Miles Scotson zips clear out of the tight left-hand bend and the Australian opens up a gap on the coast road!
1.5km to go: It's raining!
The brollies are up and this will add another difficult dynamic into the sprint... there are also crosswinds in the final kilometre coming off the beach...
3km to go: It's show time
There's a sigh of relief from the big GC men who have passed under the 3km-to-go banner. Groupama have lost a bit of control; Israel Start-Up Nation, for Davide Cimolai, and Cofidis, for Viviani, are on the front.
5km to go: Gaviria gives up
UAE Team Emirates have given up for Gaviria; the Colombian will not be contesting the win today. The team has Diego Ulissi, who is currently in the ciclamino jersey, in the main pack, but it's unlikely he'll be able to pick up many points against the fast men.
So, who's your money on - Demare, Sagan, Matthews, Viviani, Cimolai? Sagan could pick up his first stage win in the Giro today... and his first win in almost 16 months.
10km to go: GC teams enter the fray
Bahrain-McLaren and Jumbo-Visma have come forward, too, for their leaders Pello Bilbao and Steven Kruijswijk, who they will hope to protect on the approach to the finish. Still 33 seconds to close for Gaviria and UAE, who look to be flogging a dead horse here.
13km to go: Doesn't look good for Gaviria
The gap appears to get betting bigger for the Colombian. It's still under a minute but the pace is so high in the pack. Sunweb have yet to show their hand for Matthews but Bora, Groupama and Cofidis are all on the front now. Yes, finally a time check, the gap is 37 seconds.
17km to go: Gaviria hasn't given up
It's hard to know what the gaps are because we're getting no time checks here but UAE have not thrown in the towel just yet for Fernando Gaviria. Viviani, meanwhile, has edged up with some of his Cofidis teammates ahead of what is expected to be a rapid finale.
22km to go: Groupama-FDJ in charge
Pellaud is caught and so we're back together - although I believe the Gaviria chase group is still a bit off the pace. It's now Groupama on the front for Demare with Bora also in the mix for Sagan - they are the two to watch today, unless Gaviria can get back on and Viviani is not feeling too shattered after his chase.
There's also Ballerini and some of the second tier sprinters to consider, plus Matthews. But it's hard to look beyond Gaviria, Demare and Sagan...
25km to go: Almeida extends lead
It's Simon Pellaud who holds on to win the intermediate sprint but all eyes are on the battle around 10 seconds behind with Joao Almeida and Jonathan Caicedo doing battle for the remaining bonus seconds. And it's the man in pink who blasts clear to take second place and two bonus seconds ahead of his teammate Davide Ballerini, with Caicedo, in the blue climber's jersey, who misses out for fourth place.
So, if it stays as it is and everyone finishes safely in the pack, Almeida will extend his lead to two seconds over yesterday's stage winner, the Ecuadorian Caicedo.
27km to go: Viviani back!
The Italian's chase group has managed to latch onto the back of the peloton so Cofidis hopes are not dead in the water. Meanwhile, UAE are still doing their best to return their man Gaviria to the fold, while there's a simmering battle between EF Pro Cycling and Deceuninck Quick-Step ahead of the intermediate sprint, with their maglia rosa rivals Caicedo and Almeida keeping alert for bonus seconds...
31km to go: Scotson beef with Tonelli
The cameras catch Australia's Miles Scotson of Groupama-FDJ shaking his finger and remonstrating at Alessandro Tonneli of Bardiani-CSF. Not sure what that's about. It also looks like the distanced groups containing Gaviria and Viviani are getting closer - they could yet rejoin the main pack, but not ahead of the second sprint, which is coming right up.
35km to go: Pellaud clinging on
Trek have come to the front with Bora as the second of the three escapees, Gradek, is reeled in. But the lone leader Simon Pellaud is in no mood to throw in the towel just yet - which is just as good, because he might need that towel soon because he had the coast in his sights, and the rain has stopped. The gap is 1'20" now as the intermediate sprint gets closer.
45km to go: The big chase
Pellaud continues his lone ride out ahead while Frapporti is caught by the Bora-led pack. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Gaviria and Viviani can battle back in time for the expected bunch sprint today. It's all being laid on a plate for Sagan, but as we saw in the Tour, the Slovakian is not the rider he once was, and he may not be able to deliver the goods for his team - especially if someone as fast as the in-form Demare is there in the mix.
Before the finish we have the next intermediate sprint coming up in about 20km - where there are some bonus seconds up for grabs. Could Caicedo try and get the second he needs to put him in the virtual pink jersey?
55km to go: Treacherous descent
Lone leader Pellaud passes through a town with some slippery flagstones - and those will be a nightmare when the peloton passes through. The only silver lining for Ineos, I suppose, is that Thomas is no longer there - for these are just the kind of obstacles which would usually put pay to someone so often cursed.
Pellaud has about 35 seconds on Frapporti and Gradek with the pack another minute back. And yes, there we go, one of the Israel Start-Up Nation riders has hit the deck on the cobbles. There are also bidons galore bobbling around. But, thankfully, that seems to be the only incident...
60km to go: It's raining men...
And not only that, it's raining rain, too. Pellaud, the first of the men to rain down this descent, is first to hit this downpour. Better out in front and on your own, mind, than in a big peloton behind. The Swiss lone ranger could see his lead increase accordingly as rain now turns to dense fog. Not the kind of weather you usually associate with Sicily...
64km to go: Pellaud takes the KOM points
Simon Pellaud kicks clear after Frapporti cracks. The Swiss has a gap over Kradek at the summit as he takes a few points for the blue jersey competition currently being led by yesterday's stage winner, Jonathan Caicedo. Bora lead the peloton over around 1'15" down - and Demare is there, albeit towards the back with his Groupama-FDJ teammates.
The man on the front of the pack for Bora overcooks an early bend - a timely reminder of the difficulty of this long, twisting descent, especially given the damp nature of the roads. Let's hope everyone comes through this test unscathed.
68km to go: Misty summit
Images from the summit show a dense mist hanging low - and there's some terrible rain clouds on the other side, which could make for a fruity descent. Bora's pace-setting is so hard even Sagan has had to ask them to ease up a little. The gap is down to 1'20" but that's of no concern to the Slovakian and Bora - they want to distance Demare and the other remaining sprinters. But the French champion is showing no signs as yet of blowing.
71km to go: Gaviria and Viviani dropped!
And that's exactly why Bora are riding so aggressively: Fernando Gaviria has been shelled out the back of the peloton and we still have another 5km to go of this climb. Gaviria has his leadout man Max Richeze with him, and Valerio Conti dropping back. But it will be a big chase to get back into contention after the summit.
Viviani has also been dropped, while Deceuninck Quick-Step's Alvaro Hodeg has been distanced - either that or he's been told to sandbag the back wheel of Viviani, his former QuickStep teammate. The gap for the leaders is down to two minutes thanks to this acceleration from Bora-Hansgrohe.
74km to go: Bora on a mission
And now the entire Bora team have come to the front to up the tempo in a bid to break the peloton. Many riders are panicking as they try to ensure they're on the front end of the race. It's going to be interesting to see how this one pans out.
76km to go: Cat.3 Portella Mandrazzi
We have another 10km to go of this gradual grind, which is 12.5km long at 5.2%. Bora-Hansgrohe have sent another man to the front - Cesare Benedetti - which shows Sagan's intent. He hasn't won a bike race since the Tour last year and so needs a victory to kick-start his stuttering season.
79km to go: Swift struggling
Ben Swift, the British champion, is off the back and next to his Ineos team car after his earlier crash. We've heard nothing back about that earlier incident - and Swift doesn't look bashed up - but he's clearly feeling the pinch a little as the gradient ramps up on this long climb. The gap for the three escapees is 3'33".
82km to go: Advantage Gaviria
It's Fernando Gaviria who sprints to fourth place to pick up 5pts ahead of Matthews (4pts), Sagan (3pts), Ulissi (2pts) and Patrick Gamper (1pt). That means Ulissi, the current ciclamino jersey after his Stage 2 win, is up to 27pts in the standings, with Sagan his nearest challenger on 22pts.
84km to go: Frapporti wins sprint
Marco Frapporti leads the break through the intermediate sprint ahead of Pellaud and Gradek. That one wasn't really contested but it will be a different matter when the peloton zips through what with the battle for the maglia ciclamino.
87km to go: CRASH!
Pieter Weening takes a bidon on the right-hand side of the road near the back of the peloton, and as he's putting it in his cage, the Trek rider clips another bidon on the road and loses control. As he hits the deck, he takes out a Movistar rider from behind - it's the Argentinian Eduardo Sepulveda - who knows nothing about it as he is sent sprawling.
Sepulveda gets up and on his way, albeit a bit miffed off, but Weening looks to be in a bit of trouble. The Dutch veteran - the oldest man in the race at 39 - is unsteady on his feet and there are shades of Romain Bardet from the Tour here... Weening gets the all clear from the doctor, though, so any concussion concerns but have been taken into consideration. He's on his way - but that could be a blow for teammate Vincenzo Nibali.
92km to go: Cofidis in the mix
One day, Elia Viviani will win another bike race - and his team are hoping that today's the day. The Italian former QuickStep and Sky rider has yet to stand atop a podium since his move to Cofidis last winter, with poor form and the coronavirus contributing to a rather rotten maiden season for his new employers.
Cofidis have sent a man to the front to help control the break. If Viviani can get over the climb and emerge from that tight bend in the final kilometre, he should be in with a chance today - although he'll face stiff competition from the likes of Fernando Gaviria, Alvaro Hodeg, Davide Ballerini, Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and Arnaud Demare.
97km to go: CRASH!
The aerial cameras have picked up the aftermath of a crash involving riders from Ineos, UAE and Bahrain McLaren. Ben Swift is the Ineos rider, and he's back on his way after a bike change and what looked like to be a little altercation with a roadside spectator. We have no idea what happened there because it wasn't shown on the live feed, nor does there appear to be any replays available.
We'll bring you some updates when we get any more information.
105km to go: Four minutes
The gap breaks the four-minute barrier for the first time for the three leaders. Here's the three riders - although the Giro tweeter has got his or her stages mixed up: this is stage 4, not 5.
115km to go: Lotto and Trek lend a hand
No change in the gap as Lotto Soudal come to the front to help Groupama with the pace-setting in the pack. Usually this would be to tee things up for their man Caleb Ewan but the Australian is not here this year. Instead, the Belgian team have given an opportunity to their young Italian sprinter Stefano Oldani, who is making his Grand Tour debut.
Trek-Segafredo have also got a man near the front, with Jacobo Mosca in mind, while UAE Team Emirates have someone there for Fernando Gaviria, who should do battle with Demare at the finish. The clouds are stormy but it's not raining as yet.
125km to go: Groupama-FDJ on front
With the gap now pushing four minutes for the three leaders, the Groupama-FDJ teammates of sprinter Arnaud Demare have come to the front to control matters. They will be hoping the Frenchman will keep in touch going over the big climb today so that he can contest the finale. Demare has been in stellar form this season with 10 victories despite being snubbed for the Tour de France in a move which backfired following Thibaut Pinot's troubles in France.
Kelderman the best placed GC man
Dutchman Wilco Kelderman is 42 seconds down on Almeida and the best placed of the big GC riders in the battle for pink. The Sunweb rider zipped clear to steal a march on his rivals yesterday on Etna and it's put him in a solid position. By contrast, Simon Yates is 3'46" down on the race summit.
Speaking at the start today, Kelderman said:
Yesterday I felt really good. It was not controlled in the final so I took the opportunity to attack. For sure, I'm looking for a good GC - hopefully top five or maybe even better. Last year I had some injuries but this season has gone well and I'm feeling good. The time trials will suit me but the last week is super hard so we will see what happens.
Here's how the big favourites are in relation to one another:
132km to go: Pushing two minutes
Frapporti's a familiar face when it comes to Giro breakaways - the Italian has been a permanent fixture in such moves over the past few years. For all his breakaway zeal, the 35-year-old has never finished higher than 13th place in a Giro stage over the course of his seven participations, which says a lot about the kind of days he chooses to get into the mix: days when, let's be honest, the break stands no chance.
The gap is up to 1'45" now for our trio as they negotiate an early uncategorised lump in this largely transitional stage.
140km to go: They're off!
The flag goes and the race is afoot. Three riders ping off the front from the outset. They are Poland's Kamil Gradek (CCC Team), Italy's Marco Frapporti (Vini-Zabu KTM) and Switzerland's Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec). And that looks to be that as Deceuninck Quick-Step come to the front of the peloton and the paces eases. Sometimes there's a fierce battle to get in the break, other times it's a mere formality. We're on one of those days.
One climb on a day for the sprinters?
Here's the profile for today's stage, which is only 140km long and punctuated by one long, but gentle third-category climb. It's a coast-to-coast day before the race packs up and crosses the Messina Strait and heads back onto Italy's mainland. There are a few technical turns in the penultimate kilometre today before a big left-hander onto the waterfront in Villafranca ahead of what should be a bunch sprint finish.
Joao Almeida in pink
Portugal's Joao Almeida took the race lead yesterday from Filippo Ganna. It was a close-run thing with stage winner Jonathan Caicedo of Ecuador coming within 0.28 seconds of the maglia rosa...
Thomas abandons the Giro
We have had confirmation from Ineos Grenadiers that their leader Geraint Thomas has withdrawn from the race following that nasty crash in the neutral zone yesterday. It turns out that the Welshman fractured a small bone in the pelvis, which explains how he was distanced on the fast approach to yesterday's final ascent up Mount Etna.
Ciao ragazzi!
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of Stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia. It's Felix Lowe back in the hot seat taking over from Tom Owen, who had been holding the fort for the past three days while I was detained elsewhere. Tom has done a sterling job and will be back for the opening phase of the Vuelta plus, no doubt, the odd Giro stage and classic here and there.
Right, onto the race... and we have some news to bring you...
Wiggins analysis: 'Heartbreaking - G was a clear favourite'
Speaking on The Breakaway, which you can watch every day on Eurosport Player, Wiggins reacted to yesterday's terrible events for his old friend Geraint Thomas.
“The neutral zone, that’s sometimes where the worst crashes happen," Wiggins told Dan Lloyd and Brian Smith on The Breakaway.
“ It seems like a bottle came across the road and he was moving up and he rode over it, but the trajectory of the bottle threw his back wheel out. We could see the damage caused to the jersey.
“What was hard to watch about it is that Geraint has this ability to ride through pain. Most people would be on a flight home after that, but he’s got this ability to ride through suffering when something’s broken or hurt. He can push through that, get to the finish line and then assess the damage.
“ This is a guy who rode the Tour de France with a broken pelvis. He’s one of the hardest cyclists I know."
How to watch the Giro d'Italia live– TV & live streaming
The 103rd edition of the Giro d'Italia will be shown live on eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport App.
Each day the Euosport Player and the Eurosport app will stream uninterrupted coverage of each stage. We will also have rolling coverage online on eurosport.co.uk and our social channels.
And don't forget, we are bringing you daily podcasts from the Bradley Wiggins Show - check in with your podcast platform of choice each evening.
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