Giro d’Italia Stage 6 as it happened - Sanchez outsprints Alaphilippe to take maiden Giro victory after furious day on the gravel stage

After yesterday's tumble he's covered in bandages but it looks to have been sufficiently superficial to not affect his riding.

A day off for Jonathan Milan's bodyguards. Edward Teuns it on and the peloton is all strung out. This could take a while to settle down.

Andrea Piccolo, a rider we've seen plenty of this race already is first out of the blocks. He might pay for this effort, says Sean Kelly.

On one of the last stretches of smooth tarmac they'll see today, the director blows his whistle and drops his flag. We are racing in Tuscany.

And today is all about the #vibes.

180km of lumps and bumps between Torre del Lago Puccini and Rapolano Terme. Today is the day the teams will have reconned. And it might all be for nothing if the luck doesn't go their way. Expect the GC teams to stay close together.

BUONGIORNO

Ciao a tutti and welcome to live coverage of Stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia 2024.

It’s a day when the stage profile cannot be trusted. When you have to dig deeper, look closer, to have any idea of how today is likely to unfold. And even then you won’t have a clue. The reflective chalk roads of Tuscany, on which 11km of today’s stage will take place, can produce any outcome, and they almost certainly will.

The peloton is divided. Will it be another day for the sprinters, a big break, or something else entirely? The only thing that cannot be ruled out is the maglia rosa sitting back and defending his jersey. We’re in for a trattare.