Two climbs toward the end of the stage complicate matters but it is the fast men expected to strike today before the three hilly ones and the TT.
Juan Van Heerden Peter Kennaugh
and Maximiliano Richeze
are the three sprinters most likely it would seem but today is certainly a chance for perhaps a breakaway. We have seen this often in the early stages of the CTour races and thus we see a lot of early attacks. Eventually we get a stable eight man move form.
Mathieu Heijboer Honorio Machado Mathieu Bernaudeau Jos Van Emden Freddy Johansson Blel Kadri Juan-Antonio Flecha Thomas Bontenackels
make up todays main breakaway with Adrian Malori
bridging up once the break had two minutes just before the big uncategorised climb with 100km to go.
Pendleton's control the peloton as you would expect with some useful allies in the Italian team Wiggle San Pellegrino.
The intermediate sprint is with 61km to go and the gap is steady at around five minutes, the break feel they have a chance here and do not bother to contest the bonuses.
It is Blel Kadri
over Honorio Machado
and Juan-Antonio Flecha
This actually puts Flecha into a virtual lead for a short time with he and Malori the highest placed riders on GC in the breakaway at just over four minutes back from Gilbert.
Wiggle and Pendleton's seem only concerned with protecting GC places rather than looking for the win today and they ease off once the gap gets under four minutes leaving it to sprinters teams to close. It is Carmuese that decide to take up the chase:
As hard as it is to believe it seems the Belgian team feel today could be one of those days the stars aligns for Theo Bos! They have sent three or four guys to the front, though you have to wonder whether the final hills may prove demanding for the notably hill shy Dutchman. Rapha Condor lend a hand with the odd Pendletons rider and by the base of the first climb with 37km to go the lead is down to 3.30.
On the climb itself Blel Kadri
having 'won' the first sprint attacks to gain the KOM prime.
Honorio Machado
is again second with Adrian Malori
third.
The peloton go over the first climb fairly fast and the jersey holders Philippe Gilbert Simone Ponzi
and Tesfar Teklit
are near the front. The latter still comfortable on 8 points in the King of the Mountains the two primes once again just worth 5, 3 and 1 points for the first three places.
No rider is really dropped from this first climb, but the second is a longer and trickier one. At the base of it the nine man break has 25km to go and 2.30, it is looking like this will be quite close.
You sense winner of the first Kadri is trying to get up but cannot overpower the pace, but aware of the chasing peloton there is no gifts and the top three are:
Adrian Malori Juan-Antonio Flecha Honorio Machado
in that order. This means that Tesfar Teklit
keeps the King of the Mountains jersey!
Carmuese having been on the front for much of the last 40 kilometres soon see a familiar sight, Theo Bos
is dropped!
They drop back en masse, but to be fair to the much maligned Dutch sprinter other sprinters are off the back too including Óscar Guerao
and Jacopo Guarnieri
The break too found the climb selective and five riders move clear of the other four.
Mathieu Heijboer Adrian Malori Honorio Machado Blel Kadri
and Juan-Antonio Flecha
open up a thirty second gap on Mathieu Bernaudeau Freddy Johansson Thomas Bontenackels
and Jos Van Emden
with another 84 seconds back to a lethargic looking Pendletons led peloton.
There does seem to be some re-evaluating going on back there with some of the sprinters perhaps feeling tired. Wikipedia and UBS have not been anywhere near to the front at all for their sprinters and they really need to be doing something if their sprinters have any chance.
Up front realising this is a golden chance for the win Mathieu Heijboer
not really a great sprinter tries to get away alone.
The slow pace of the peloton sees some attacks from opportunistic riders
Jesus Del Nero Jacob Fiedler
and the marking Andrea Moletta
move clear of the peloton and quickly move close to the second group (the faded early break men), seeing how easily these three got away two more try.
Morten Reckweg
and Jakub Danacik
both look to claw back some time they lost yesterday.
7.5km to go then, we are back to five men up front Heijboer couldn't get very far away.
These five have pulled out over a minute on the chasers with their four former breakaway companions having been joined by the three attackers Del Nero, Moletta and Fieldler. The now 88 man peloton is over a minute back with Reckweg and Danacek between.
The three late attackers have not given up on the five men up front and you feel now their team directors will know that the sprinters will not come back.
In the front five they keep working hard and with 3km to go they are just holding off the late movers, though Del Nero gets to just under 20 seconds.
Yet another rider looks to steal some seconds in Geert Steurs
who attacks the peloton in the final five kilometers.
He will not get up the front though and the five are being led out by Adrian Malori
Behind him in order it's Juan-Antonio Flecha Blel Kadri Honorio Machado Mathieu Heijboer
Kadri and Machado are the two best sprinters, the latter rider is pretty antsy and makes an early dash with 1.6km to go.
Suddenly the attention is ripped from the sprint and a massive CRASH near the front of the peloton, audible expecitives from the Festina team as Ulissi is clearly down in the middle of the road.
Names are starting to reel off the screen at the finish area: Posthuma, Summerhill, Van den Hugenhaben, Efimkin. These are some of the many riders delayed by this crash, muted scenes at the finish line as Machado has dominated the sprint.
Kadri is there in second ahead of veteran Flecha in third, Malori 4th, Heijboer 5th and Del Nero 6th.
The Cafe de Colombia rider looks to make a statement at the Giro directors but you sense all the attention is on the crash behind.
Camara's scroll back as people are rushing round with bandages and clipboards at the finish, emerging from the rubble is a 27 man Pendleton's led favourites group. I say favourites there is quite a few missing...
The lucky favourites here are... Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver Philippe Gilbert Simone Ponzi Alessandro Ballan Jan Bakelants
and Maurice Schreurs
Where are the others not yet mentioned, motorbike two just behind the 27 man front group see's frantic sprinting from Frank Schleck
The Vesuvio rider is in the company of Jakob Fuglsang Sergio Ghisalberti
and Jonathan Bellis
They just might make it back, but no sign of Edvald Boasson Hagen
and riders are still tumbling down on that same dreadful corner.
Reports confirm that Hagen, Ulissi, Efimkin, Posthuma, Van den Hugenhaben and Summerhill are back on their bikes but some distance down on the sprinting back Schleck group.
Schleck gets back to the back end of the Gilbert/Ponzi group negating any possible time loss for him to the favourites.
At the front of this group nearly man Juan Van Heerden
is comfortably the best sprinter left he manages to only finish 15th but negates any time loss to the second chase group.
Two and a half minutes behind him though sprints in a desperately disappointed and bruised Ulissi, he has lost some time to his rivals and drops from 3rd place overall.
Cafe de Colombia's Machado then takes a crash marred second stage which sees just 13 riders 20 seconds away from the lead and we haven't even got going yet. Machado seizes the points jersey for a day, with Gilbert holding the leaders jersey.
