Stage Favourites:
***Salas(HLE) **Preidler(ISS) *Elissonde(GPM)

We have a tough mountain stage here with four sizable climbs. The last being the Mont Pennino which is 9 kilometres at 7.2% and summits 16 kilometres before the descent to the finish.

No danger men make up the break but on the tough terrain they never pull out a large gap. The race really hot's up on the second climb of the day with Gesink pushing on the pace.

The final climb is reached with the big favourites all together. Al Ghanim leads the GC men up the final climb before Pizzaballa takes over...

No attacks take place thanks to the pace....

So Duran attacks over the top, Preidler and Teklehaimanot go with him.

Before...the latter two break away on the descent... Leaving Duran in no man' land...

However, Duran manages to ride across on the flat just before the finish and is also joined by a group of favourties totalling 13. Pizzaballa is here and looks to be in good shape and has a decent chance of the victory...

until he falls just kilometres before the finale.......

Henao take the win from a small bunch sprint, after his attack Duran had nothing left for the final. Henao is now just '40 being having taken '43 seconds back in the last two stages, Priedler also puts in some time but Duran maintains the GC lead by over '30 seconds.

Stages 13 and 14 are the last small chances for any sprinter with an eye on victory. It will not be easy, stage 13 sees many difficult climbs in the first half of the race.

Swift claims his second win of the Giro after beating Kittel and his lead out man, Williams, in the sprint. The gap to the break was never excessive so the sprinters were able to contest the sprint being somewhat fresh.

Yildiz would have no doubt finished higher but he was blocked about 70 times in the sprint, nevertheless we keep the Maglia Rosa out of trouble.

Stage Favourites:
***Gesink(YTE) **Vanendert(QOS) *Ulissi(JDE)

Today is classified as hilly but is earlier than yesterday. looks like the ideal day for a break. GC changes likely won't occur.

Pichot would take the win from a 4 man break, the second breakaway win for KLM. But the real story happened 20 kilometres from the finish...

with a big crash

Uchima was the only GC casualty, however, Gesink and our man Izagirre as well as white jersey, Nissen, are all caught up and would abandon.

Uchima would finish in the peloton. Izagirre is out with a severely fractured thigh.

Stage Favourites:
***Salas(HLE) **Elissonde(GPM) *Henao(YTE)

Stage 15 is a unrelenting insanely difficult stage taking in four really difficult climbs. We end on the fabled Monte Cimone which is 9 kilometres averaging 12%, many riders will get off and abandon on a stage encompassing more than 5000 metres of climbing.

Jan Barta showed some cohones by attacking by himself on the early climb of the day, the Passo della Collina, in search of securing his mountain jersey.

Eventually he would be joined by Santambroggio and Brenes but the Czech rider would finish top at the first three climbs of the day, thus claiming significant mountain points.

Youtube don't want the break winning so with 56 kilometres left on the second of the four climbs with domestiques used up the points leader Henao puts many in the hurt locker, albeit briefly.

Early signs suggest pink jersey, our man, Duran is not on the best of days..

Onto the penultimate climb, Rowe, Faiers then Martin attack. But it is OK because they are several minutes down in GC...

But then it isn't OK as with 33 kilometres to go Salas attacks who is less than 3:00 down on GC, the break are caught... This means the GC men such as Stortoni and Henao up the pace to bring back the Spaniard...

We hit the descent and the final monster climb is approaching as Salas is caught by the GC group we have two men left: Duran and Pizzaballa...

Cue the......

The climb starts. The fans, wild. Henao attacks with De Vos going with him in the wheel. Pizzaballa brings this move back and that is him spent....

Suffering more and more after each kilometre, Duran somehow rides to the front of the race....

De Vos goes again so does Henao before Preidler unleashes a big attack...

All the attacks are taking the toll on Duran. He loose a bike length...

Oh no He looses another one. The wheel of Salas is drifting further and further away as I shout 'Hang in there' over the race radio.

Stortoni and Uchima put in a great attack but are wound in by the two serious danger men to Duran.

Henao and Preidler would fight out the stage win as Duran is blowing hard.

Henao takes another win in the Giro. The pace to the finish was astounding given the terrain and.... with the time bonuses would move into the race lead @'5 ahead of the Austrian.

Duran would finish 1'14 down, doing alright to limit the loses but moves down two steps on the podium. Today was a bad day for him, for us, but the war ain't over.

With no more sprint stages/ terrain which suits him, Yildiz was one of many to abandon.

MOUNTAIN:

Stage Favourites:
***Salas(HLE) **Elissonde(GPM) *Henao(YTE)

Another big day in the mountains in this Giro is here, the day after the rest day. We end of the frighteningly long Colle del Nivolet which lasts 33 kilometres and averages 5.5%, the last few kilometres being the most difficult.