Giro d’Italia 2023 Stage 18 recap – Filippo Zana denies Thibaut Pinot as Primoz Roglic roars back, Geraint Thomas keeps pink

With the leaders called to heel and that eight-man move almost caught, Derek Gee and Marco Frigo combine and power clear. Behind, Pinot, Zana and Paret-Peintre are doing their best to join them, with Pronskiy a bit further back. How impressive have Israel-PremierTech been on this Giro? Yet to win a stage, Gee has finished second three times and fourth once, while Frigo came third on Sunday at Bergamo after a stirring comeback - all this after Simon Clarke's brave ride in Naples in the opening week.

The Irishman was very active on the flat run towards the climb but he's now pedalling squares and off the back. It will be tough for him to retain the blue jersey today - especially with Pinot on the attack. He's not the only one feeling the pinch, with Geraint Thomas already losing Ineos duo Ben Swift and Salvatore Puccio.

We have eight riders who have Aurelien Paret Peintre (Ag2R Citroen), Vadim Pronskiy (Astana), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Alessandro Tonelli (Green Project-Bardiani), Thibaut Pinot (Gorupama-FDJ), Marco Frigo and Derek Gee (both Israel-PremierTech) and Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla). The gap is small and it's Primoz Roglic's Jumbo-Visma team who are tapping out tempo on the front behind.

We're onto the first of five climbs - a 11.6km test with an average gradient of 7.1% and a maximum tilt of 12%. There will be 40 KOM points up for grabs over the summit and a maximum 119pts available today in the blue jersey competition.

Warren Barguil (Arkea Samsic) is the next rider to go clear and he's joined by Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) and Laurens Huys (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty). They are brought back as several riders come over - including Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) and Aurelien Paret-Peintre (Ag2R Citroen). Big splits behind in the pack as the gradient ramps up, with Mark Cavendish off the back.

The Haig-Healy group is reeled in after that chase by Eolo-Kometa and we will need to regroup and repeat. The road is starting to edge uphill now as the first climb nears - and that has already seen several riders distanced, including Fernando Gaviria of Movistar, who has had a rotten race in all fairness.

The Movistar rider zips clear of the pack and his counter-attack has sparked a reaction in the peloton. This could spell out the end for the leaders if too many riders come across. Verona is pegged back and it eases again until Eolo-Kometa come to the front to take it up for their man Lorenzo Fortunato.

The persistence of Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana-Qazaqstan) pays off as they manage to open up some daylight off the front of the race in a five-man move that also includes Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Alexandre Delettre (Cofidis) and Davide Gabburo (Green Project-Bardiani).

Astana duo Joe Dombrowski and Luis Leon Sanchez were right in the thick of it and then Larry Warbasse teamed up with Ben Healy for a long and sustained pull on the front to string things out again. It's basically wave after wave of attacks with nothing sticking but each blow doing some damage to everyone behind.

The Irish debutant Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) already has a stage win to his name in this race, plus came second in Bergamo on Sunday. He clearly wants more because he's trying his luck on the front now - eager to make the move today so that he can protect his lead in the KOM standings. Healy wears the blue jersey and leads the climbers' competition with 164pts ahead of Davide Bais (144pts), Einer Rubio (117pts) and Thibaut Pinot (114pts).

A large group has gone off the front and then there's a split in the pack as a second, larger group tries to bridge over. So essentially we have the peloton split in three - and Primoz Roglic is in the third group because his Jumbo team-mate Koen Bouwman is burying himself to close the gap. It comes back together but the peloton is all strung out. Fiery start out there in the Veneto as the riders kick lumps out of each other before the first climb. Meanwhile, holding on for dear life on the back is Charlie Quarterman, the Briton who was in yesterday's break.

Most of the attacks today have come from the Australian team. Since the last update, Alessandro De Marchi had a pop, which came to nothing, then Michael Hepburn again came to the front in a bid to slingshot team-mate Filippo Zana clear. The Italian champion has been in fine form recently and he played an important role in Eddie Dunbar's fourth place on Monte Bondone. Dunbar is currently in fifth place on GC - a huge milestone for the Irish rider, who is riding only his second Grand Tour.

It's been an active start so far with a move of around 15 riders going clear - including Michael Matthews, Carlos Verona and Cesare Benedetti - but that came to nothing after the unbiquitous and indefatigable Derek Gee led the chase for Israel-PremierTech. Now the next acceleration comes and it's from Michael Hepburn of Jayco-AlUla. The Aussie team have been very active and clearly want a rider up the road for their GC man Eddie Dunbar. It worked well on Monte Bondone the other day with Filippo Zana, so there's some logic in their efforts.

Stefano Allocchio - draped in an Inter scarf following their Coppa Italia win over Fiorentina last night - waves the flag and the race is under way. Quite fittingly, there's an attack from the gun by Thomas Champion of Cofidis. The Frenchman was in the break yesterday and has ridden over 700km off the front of the pack so far in this Giro.

The sun is out, the temperature is 25 degrees, and today is going to be a huge day in this Giro. There are some nervous faces as the riders make their way out of Oderzo and negotiate the neutral section. We can expect attacks from the outset - especially given the 30km flat section ahead of the first climb.

Geraint Thomas is celebrating his 37th birthday today. He just spoke to us before the start of the stage: "It's going to be tough and a big battle for the GC at the finish. Everyone in the top 10 will look to gain time today, for sure. We're going to be prepared for anything. A lot of people have been talking about my age but I'm still feeling good, still improving and just enjoying my racing. I'm like a fine wine, I like to think."

In the Eurosport studio, Jens Voigt has just told his chums in The Breakaway that he thinks it more likely that Roglic will finish off the podium than on the top step. Dan Lloyd also doubts that the triple Vuelta winner will become a Giro winner this Sunday - although they both agree that he has nothing to lose in attacking. Adam Blythe, back on the moto today, is more measured. He thinks that, given he's only 29 seconds down and hardly riding badly, the Slovenian is still very much in the mix.

Today's stage is an amuse bouche for tomorrow's tougher, steeper, longer day of destiny in the Dolomites. But make no mistake, it's still a very tough day in the saddle and one that could be instrumental in the fight for pink. With so many KOM points up for grabs, too, expect a secondary battle for blue, too.

Yesterday, local rider Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) picked up a second career stage win on the Giro after a textbook leadout by his team-mates in Caorle. Jonathan Milan came too late and had to settle for a fourth second place in this race - which means no sprinters have yet to double up in this Giro. It was an emotional moment for Dainese who, just three days earlier, was battling to stay in the race. Broadsided by illness, he rode most of Sunday's stage to Bergamo just ahead of the broom wagon en route to finishing last. Here's how he took his win yesterday.