Giro d’Italia 2020 Stage 11 - As it happened
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Updated 14/10/2020 at 15:22 GMT
Despite a spirited attempt from the breakaway, a flawless Arnaud Demare made it four with victory in Stage 11 of the 2020 Giro d'Italia. Follow the ebb and flow of all the action from the flat 182km ride up the Adriatic coast, as Joao Almeida retained the maglia rosa.
Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) - Stage 11 - Giro d'Italia 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
The moment Demare made it four...
Flawless fourth win from the Frenchman today.
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'Nobody can get near him!' - Demare wins Stage 11
No change at the top
On what was a routine bunch sprint stage there were no changes in the general classification with Joao Almeida, the pink jersey, coming through the day unscathed to retain his 34-second lead over Wilco Kelderman in the general classification.
Sagan settles for second
Normal service is resumed for Peter Sagan, who took second place behind Demare there. Alvaro Hodeg was third and Simone Consonni - stepping in for Cofidis following Viviani's crash - fourth. Rick Zabel completed the top five with Gaviria only managing seventh...
Four wins for Arnaud Demare!
The Frenchman is unbeatable at this Giro d'Italia! That's his fourth win and Demare really finished that off for Groupama-FDJ brilliantly. No one else stood a chance once the maglia ciclamino launched his sprint from the wheel of teammate Guarnieri.
Final kilometre
Two men for Demare, who has Sagan on his wheel going under the flamme rouge with Gaviria in the mix and Hodge also poised...
2km to go: Here come Groupama...
Now Groupama swing to the front for their man Demare - and it's a real tussle between them and UAE, with Bora also in the mix.
3km to go: Bjerg pulls for UAE
Different tactics for Demare who is sitting back and letting UAE and Israel do their thing. It's Mikkel Bjerg who are on the front for Gaviria.
5km to go: UAE and Israel move up
UAE are on the front after the Belgian escapee is swept up and spat out. They're working for Gaviria while Israel Start-Up Nation, who have now come forward, are meant to be working for Rick Zabel, but also have Davide Cimolai. Bora poised too for Sagan.
7km to go: All over for Armee
Just 10 seconds now for our lone leader, whose bold effort is about to come to an end. There's a plethora of dangerous road furniture which has caused a few difficulties behind with riders forced to take evasive action or slam on the brakes.
9km to go: Just 35 seconds
It's the general classification teams who have muscled in on the front now on this wide highway into Rimini. Poor Sander Armee - he's giving it his all, but his gap is evaporating.
11km to go: Ineos join the chase
That may be the tipping point for Armee as Ineos Grenadiers come to the front for their man Ben Swift, the British national champion. Deceuninck Quick-Step are also in the mix - working to keep Joao Almeida out of trouble, but also for their sprinters Davide Ballerini and Alvaro Hodeg.
Bora-Hansgrohe have kept back so it looks like Peter Sagan will freelance today, while we have not yet seen Israel Start-Up Nation, who are apparently going for Rick Zabel today.
13km to go: UAE and FDJ commit
This wasn't the plan for the teams of the sprinters, who would have wanted to keep their powder dry ahead of the finish. But it's all hands to the pump now as UAE chip in to help out with Groupama in a bid to reel in the last man standing. Mattia Bais is also still out - he's 1'05" down on Armee and 32" clear of the pack.
15km to go: Viviani back
The Italian sprinter is back in the peloton after that incident. He's on the back of the pack and talking to the race doctor so it remains to be seen how - if at all - competitive the Cofidis sprinter will be at the finish in Rimini.
16km to go: Armee ITT to the finish
This would be a real turn up for the books if the Belgian can hold the peloton at bay. He still has 1'50" but the legs are surely going to catch up with him soon.
21km to go: Armee goes alone
Meanwhile, Sander Armee has dropped Mattia Bais on the front of the race. He's giving it full-whack with a two-minute gap on the pack. The Belgian 34-year-old is out of contract next year so this will help his quest to prolong his career. Cofidis and Viviani, meanwhile, are still 30-odd seconds down and have to find their way through all the team cars.
24km to go: Almost over for the chasers
The road heads uphill on a testing rise - and the three chasers are really fading now as the peloton closes in. We're still waiting for an update on Viviani, who was chasing back with his Cofidis teammates following that earlier incident.
'What a mess that is'
Here's what happened at that roundabout with Viviani and the motorcycle...
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'What a mess!' – Viviani taken out by motorbike in freak crash
30km to go: Duo forge ahead
Romano never managed to bridge over and he's now riding with teammate Mazzucco and Frapporti in pursuit of the break's two strongest men. Armee and Bais have 55 seconds over the chasers with the peloton now 2'15" back following that incident with Viviani. He's back on his bike but not yet back with the bunch.
32km to go: CRASH! Viviani down...
A totally unnecessary incident there which has resulted in Elia Viviani hitting the deck in the peloton after a motorbike drove into his back wheel on the exit of a roundabout. The speed was not high because it was a very acute exit but the driver really made a hash of that one.
36km to go: Armee keen to push on
The Belgian ups the tempo on these rolling roads and he takes Bais with him. Frapporti and the two Bardiani riders look to have blown a gasket - although Romano is digging in in an attempt to bridge over. The peloton, meanwhile, is now 2'05" down.
38km to go: Romano wins sprint
Or does he? A late lunge from Marco Frapporti could well have seen him pip Francesco Romano to the line there at the second intermediate sprint. They were not interested in the bonus seconds but rather the intermediate sprint classification, one of the lesser classifications in all fairness. Mattia Bais opened it up on the uphill drag to the line but he was rounded by Romano who could well have then had his jersey pocket picked by Frapporti.
43km to go: Conti on the front
Valerio Conti has been on the front for UAE-Team Emirates for quite a while now, laying what he hopes will be the groundwork for Fernando Gaviria's sixth Giro stage win. None this year, mind. While the Colombian has six victories to his name in 2020, he's been a bit off the boil in this Giro. Can he rediscover his mojo and stop Arnaud Demare riding to a fourth victory in Rimini?
50km to go: Pozzovivo back in the bunch
Domenico Pozzovivo was off the back with a mechanical or a visit to the NTT team car. But with the pace not so fast he was able to get back into the fold. The Italian veteran is having a great Giro so far and sits in fourth place less than one minute off the summit. His compatriot Vincenzo Nibali told the Italian press today that he's never seen Pozzovivo in such good form.
Three minutes for the five leaders, who have been out pretty much since the start today.
Rimini: First finish since 1960
Today will be the first finish in the coastal resort of Rimini - famous for being the place where the late Marco Pantani drew his last breaths - for 60 years, and the first time the Giro has passed through in 33 years (where there was a stage start in 1987). It will be the ninth stage finish in Rimini in the Giro's history - and, strangely, the fourth time Stage 11 has come to Rimini.
It's these kinds of stats that keeps us going on a quiet day such as this...
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The breakaway during Stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
65km to go: Gap increases
Bais is back with the break after his cameo up the road. The descent and that fast pace up the climb has combined to see the gap of these five riders grow to 3'20". Groupama-FDJ are on the front of the peloton with a rider from Cofidis and some UAE guys ahead of the Deceuninck-QuickStep train. My, oh my do Viviani and Gaviria need a win today.
71km to go: Bais wins KOM
Mattia Bais responds to an attack from Mazzucco to go over the summit of the climb in pole position - and by a country mile. The 23-year-old really went for it there with a big-ring attack which left his rivals for dead. It was all a bit peculiar given there wasn't really much to race for, given none of them are in the frame for the blue jersey. But the summit gave these riders from the second tier Italian pro-conti teams the chance to show off their wares and get their sponsors' names on the TV.
73km to go: Monte San Bartolo
Meanwhile, the leaders are onto the Cat.4 Monte San Bartolo. Just three points up for grabs for the winner and none of these escapees are a factor in the maglia azzurra standings. So this is merely a leg-stretcher to break up the monotony for the riders.
75km to go: Demare pips Sagan
It's a good leadout from Bora-Hansgrohe's Maciej Bodnar but Peter Sagan can't do anything against the speed of Arnaud Demare as the Frenchman zips clear to take the 3pts ahead of Sagan who settles for 2pts in the intermediate sprint. So, Demare is up to 170 points with Sagan 21pts behind on 149pts.
There's a maximum 50pts up for grabs for the winner today so Demare will be back on course following his rival's stage win yesterday.
76km to go: Romano wins sprint
It's Romano who surges past Frapporti to take the intermediate sprint with a late surge from Bais almost enough to beat Frapporti for second. The peloton will come through in around two minutes. Fernando Gaviria was off the back with a mechanical or something, but the Colombian has been paced back by his UAE teammates. Not that Gaviria is a factor in the sprint classification: he only has 16 points to Demare's 167.
82km to go: One-man Armee
This break has the youngest rider in the Giro, 21-year-old Fabio Mazzucco of Bardiani-CSF. He's here with his teammate Francesco Romano and two other Italians - the seasoned breakaway specialist Marco Frapporti (Vini Zabu-KTM) and the man leading the breakaway classification, Mattia Bais of Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec.
But it's the fifth man of the break, the only non-Italian, Sander Armee of Belgium, who is the only Grand Tour stage winner of this move: the Lotto Soudal veteran won a stage of the 2017 Vuelta en route to finishing a careerp-high 19th in the Grand Tour.
86km to go: Intermediate sprint ahead
There should be a bit of activity coming up with the intermediate sprint in 10km. Arnaud Demare, who currently leads Peter Sagan by 20pts in the maglia ciclamino standings, has just had a natural break and is now prepping himself, riding back through the pack in search of his remaining five Groupama-FDJ teammates. The break will take the lion's share of the points but there will still be 3-2-1 points left for sixth, seventh and eighth over the line when the peloton passes through Pesaro.
96km to go: Lunch time
The peloton has edged through the feed zone with a gap of three minutes as the riders pick up musettes for bit of sustinance.
Bais, not Frapporti, the breakaway king
I mentioned earlier that Frapporti was leading the breakaway classification - a mistake easily made given his ubiquity in the moves. But going into today's stage it was actually Salvatore Puccio who was leading that classification after being involved in two breaks which went the full distance.
But Bais, the 23-year-old Grand Tour debutant, had now overtaken his countryman, and by the end of today's stage, he will have ridden well over 400km out in front of the race. Great experience for the burgeoning pro.
112km to go: NTT in the mix
We saw a lot of NTT Pro Cycling yesterday as they paved the way for an attack from Domenico Pozzovivo. In the end, that attack did come, but it was perhaps not as acute as it could have been after the Italian veteran was waylaid by a puncture moments before the two last climbs. Today, though, the NTT train is back in place, sitting in just behind the individual riders from Cofidis, UAE and Groupama on the front of the pack. The gap is 2'42".
122km to go: Over those lumps
The riders have gone over those little climbs and are back on the flat. The race has entered the region of Le Marche today. In fact, they're not too far away from Filottrano, the old hometown of the late Michele Scarponi. They have headed slightly inland while the race bypasses the port of Ancona, with the gap of the five leaders down to 2'50".
144 riders remaining
I said there were 145 riders at the start but that was an inadvertant lie. We're hearing that Ramon Sinkeldam (Groupama-FDJ) did not finish yesterday's stage. The Dutchman's absence means his team is now down to six riders - and that may affect Groupama's leadout for Demare today. Will he be missed? Time will tell.
Jakob Fuglsang speaks
The Dane came home 1'38" down yesterday after picking up a puncture in the finale. He's now out of the top 10 and 2'20" down on Joao Almeida on GC. He spoke to Eurosport's Bernie Eisel ahead of the stage today:
"It was not such a bad day until the last 10km. We started the downhill and I noticed I had a puncture. I tried to keep riding on it but on the second corner I was going sideways. I tried to call a car but they were too far behind. In the end my only option was to get a bike from [Astana teammate Fabio] Felline, but it was a bit too small. Of course my rivals ride together for the finish - it was full on and there was a chance for the stage. But the pressure is now on them, not me, because I'm far back."
140km to go: Slight uphill rise
The leaders are now onto an uphill segment rising above the Adriatic. So far, the chase has been carried out by Groupama-FDJ, UAE Team Emirates and Cofidis, working collectively for their respective sprinters - Arnaud Demare (the out-and-out favourite), the out-of-form Fernando Gaviria (who took a tumble yesterday), and the even further out-of-sorts Elia Viviani (still searching for a first victory since his move from QuickStep last winter).
148km to go: Gap comes down
Having hit four minutes earlier, the advantage now for the five leaders is down to 3'15" with the sprinters' teams keen to keep a lid on things. Opportunities will be few and far between for the fast men after today's stage.
Sagan the saviour
Four-hundred-and-sixty-one days, and many second places, since his last win – and then Peter Sagan went and did that...
It's fair to say that Stage 10 yesterday was arguably the best of the race so far - and boy did the Giro need a lift after the rest day gloom. Here's a little homage I wrote to Peter Sagan after he joined the 3GT stage winners' club.
155km to go: Armee's army
Thanks to the good folk at ProCyclingStats I can inform you that the only rider in this break to crack the top 20 in any stage so far in this year's Giro is Sander Armee. The Belgian finished 19th in stage 8 to Vieste a few days ago. Interestingly, for all his breakaway antics, Marco Frapporti has not yet finished higher than 86th. That probably tells you something about the success of his breakaways. Still, the veteran Italian does lead the Fuga classification for breakaway kilometres out ahead, so that's all that counts in his books.
162km to go: Make that four
The break has managed to double its lead on these flat coastal roads. Just the six KOM points up for grabs today, so Ruben Guerreiro's blue jersey is safe.
170km to go: Two minutes
The gap quickly grows to two minutes so it's fair to say, that's that for a bit. None of these five riders are a threat to Joao Almeida on GC - the best placed being Armee at 45'44" - and the sprinters' teams should be able to control their advantage and ensure they can be pegged back before the finale.
But the Giro's the Giro... who knows what may happen.
177km to go: Five go clear
It's almost an all-Italian break as Mattia Bais (Androni Giocatolli-Sidermec), Fabio Mazzucco and Francecso Romano (both Bardiani-CSF) and Marco Frapporti (Vini Zabu-KTM) are joined by the Belgian Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal) off the front in an early move.
182km to go: They're off!
This latest sprinters' showdown is under way. Arnaud Demare will be the favourite to take a fourth win and extend his lead in the maglia ciclamino standings - but who knows what yesterday's victory will have done for Peter Sagan's morale. Other sprinters in with a chance include Fernando Gaviria, Elia Viviani, Davide Ballerini, Alvaro Hodeg, Andrea Vendrame, Davide Cimolai, Stefano Oldani or even Ben Swift...
Riders in the neutral zone
Good morning, cycling fans. Thankfully there are no more Covid-19 positive tests to warn you about. The remaining 145 riders have rolled out of Porto Sant'Elpidio and are currently in the neutral zone ahead of the official start. The race hugs the Adriatic coast again today all the way to Rimini with just the one categorised climb and a few lumps to chalk off before the expected bunch sprint finale.
Stage 11 profile: Day for the ciclamino?
This is what lies ahead of the riders today... could a fourth win for Arnaud Demare be on the cards? On paper, it certainly looks more like a battle for the maglia ciclamino rather than a push for pink.
Here is our video preview of today's Stage 11:
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Giro d'Italia 2020 - Stage 11 Profile
STAGE 10 RECAP
A ride for the ages saw Peter Sagan solo to Stage 10 glory to take a maiden victory on the Giro d'Italia – and his first win for 15 months.
On a day two teams were forced out after Covid-19 positive tests, Portugal's Joao Almeida also strengthened his grip on the maglia rosa with four bonus seconds.
As the storm clouds cleared and a rainbow appeared above Tortoreto, Sagan, the triple former world champion with the rainbow bands around his sleeves, pulled off a ride for the ages, soloing to a first win since the 2019 Tour de France.
The finale of Tuesday's 177km Stage 10 was peppered with steep ramps and hampered by some almighty downpours – but one man could soon see clearly once the rain had gone.
Sagan held on to take an emphatic win by 19 seconds over the American Brandon McNulty (UAE-Team Emirates) while, right behind, Portugal's Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) won the sprint for third place from a select group of GC favourites to add another four seconds to his lead at the top of the standings.
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Highlights: Sagan solos to Stage 10 glory after ride for the ages
How to watch the Giro d'Italia live – TV & live streaming
The 103rd edition of the Giro d'Italia is live on eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.
You can watch the entire race for £6.99 (monthly subscription), while an annual pass is £39.99.
Each day Eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app will stream uninterrupted coverage of each stage. We will also have rolling coverage online on the Eurosport.co.uk website 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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