Giro d'Italia 2023 Stage 11 recap - Pascal Ackermann pips Jonathan Milan after Tao Geoghegan Hart crashes out

Although he was caught out on the wrong side of the split, Welshman Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) retained his slender two-second lead over Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) in the battle for the pink jersey.

Portugal’s Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) rose to third place at 22 seconds, with Norway’s Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) and Italy’s Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) completing the new-look top five following the earlier withdrawal of Teo Geoghegan Hart.

"It's really special for me especially after my broken coccyx last year, I’m finally back. I felt super amazing in the last days but could never really show off how strong I am. Today I got the first chance – my team-mates brought me to a good position and I showed that we can do it. I’m super, super happy to win my first victory of the season today."

On the late surge by Jonathan Milan, Ackermann added: "It was a big head-crosswind so if you came from the back you could move really fast. I decided to do it from the front because in the last corner, you never know how slippery it is and I didn’t want to crash again. I was just happy that Cavendish was very strong and was able to do the perfect lead-out for me today."

Here's how Pascal Ackermann ended his 288-day wait for a win...

He missed out on the win but that was a strong finish by Mark Cavendish, who shouldn't give up on his dream of becoming the outright leading stage winner on the Tour de France this July - or even, for that matter, winning a stage here in Italy before.

1. Pascal Ackermann
2. Jonathan Milan
3. Mark Cavendish
4. Mads Pedersen
5. Stefano Oldani
6. Alberto Bettiol
7. Marius Mayrhofer
8. Davide Ballerini
9. Simone Consonni
10. Arne Marit

The maglia ciclamino was convinced he'd done enough to win that - and wagged his finger at Ackermann as if to pour water on the German's initial celebrations. But the photo finish shows that the UAE sprinter just held on. What a special finish - the best of the race so far.

Wow - what a finish! Mads Pedersen went long and was passed by Mark Cavendish until Pascal Ackermann came around him to the left. But a late surge from Jonathan Milan - who came from deep, deep, deep - saw him finish the fastest. The Bahrain Victorious rider would have been the winner had the finish been perhaps one metre later. But Germany's Ackermann held on to take the win by the slimmest of margins for UAE Team Emirates.

Mark Cavendish went early but was pipped back by Pascal Ackermann on one side but Jonathan Milan left it late and came up on the other side - and both riders are now celebrating the win...

Pedersen, Milan, Cavendish, Ackermann all still here ahead of the tight right-hander...

It happened a bit back but it's caused a large split in the pack and some of the sprinters will have been caught out. Fernando Gaviria seems to be one of them...

There's a late attack by a Corratec-Selle Italia rider - and it's Britain's Charlie Quarterman who tries to go against the grain just ahead of the 3km marker, which will see the GC riders breathe a deep sigh of relief. Bahrain lead the chase for their man Jonathan Milan.

Just ahead of the 5km banner, the Belgian exhales deeply, swings to the side of the road, and sits up as the peloton makes the catch. He was out ahead for over 210km today - what a superb effort from the 23-year-old debutant.

Perhaps they're working for their fast man Jake Stewart, or perhaps simply to keep Thibaut Pinot out of trouble. Astana are also readying themselves for Cavendish, who hasn't enjoyed a clean sprint yet in his bid to snare a 19th career win in the Giro.

The peloton is leaving that man Laurenz Rex cruelly dangling out ahead. The Belgian has looked over his shoulders a few times and he won't have liked what he saw. He's gritting his teeth and refusing to throw in the towel but it won't be much longer now...

Let's hope there are no more incidents today and we have a clean sprint. We've already seen Geoghegan Hart crash out of the race and Sivakov crash out of the top 10 on a dark day for Ineos Grenadiers. The last thing we need is more setbacks for any team especially in the ongoing battles against Covid and the elements.

Sepp Kuss has been ill and he's now off the back. In fact, he has had a mechanical as well and needs a bike change. The same can be said for Lorenzo Rota of Intermarche, whose team-mate Rex is still holding on off the front of the pack. He's been compared to Taco van der Hoorn before - and you can see why. But I don't think he's going to do a Taco and hold off the peloton for a win on the Giro today - because they now have the Belgian in their sights.

The team-mates of Mads Pedersen clearly don't want a repeat of previous stages here and have joined forces with Movistar to keep chipping away at the lead, which is just 30 seconds now. And that's it for Stojnic - the Serbian calls it a day and so it's Laurenz Rex who is the last man standing, having been the man who kicked it all off back in Lido di Camaiore.

Trek and Movistar continue the chase but the gap is still 48 seconds for our two leaders. The roads are wet and there's a lot of standing water even if it appears to have stopped raining for now. Today's finish features one very sharp right-hand inside the final kilometre ahead of the home straight. That will be the key point - if you're out of position there, then you won't stand a chance in a sprint that will launch right afterwards.