Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the 2020 Giro d'Italia! The fourth out of six flat stages awaits us today - and it's even the flattest of all, with the least total elevation gain!
And while this one was surely marked in red in every sprinter's calendar, we'll probably again have some gutsy breakaway riders trying to strike back after yesterday's stage winner came from the peloton.
There's not much to say to the course itself - it's flat. So let's talk a bit about the most important places today - start and finish. The race kicks off in Montecchio Maggiore, about 10km south-west from yesterday's arrival location Vicenza. Although only about 25,000 people live here, it's among Italy's richest communes. Many companies in different sizes have their headquarters here, several of them operating worldwide. Agriculture is still an important domain, and thereof the wines are probably best known.
But what even more people associate with Montecchio Maggiore are the castles of Romeo and Juliet, as they are told to have inspired the original writer of the world's most known love story. Surely, these medieval castles are worth a sigth - but again, not for the riders, not today!
Instead, the main protagonists of the Giro story will ride eastwards for most of the stage. We'll have an interemediate sprint in Portegrandi, after 107.8km - and by then we'll already be in the surroundings of the Venetian Lagoon. The riders will arive there just north of Venice, and then continue their way eastwards, riding around the Lagoon.
Finally, they will arrive in Jesolo, today's arrival venue, lying at the North end of the Lagoon. They will add kind of an extra lap in Jesolo, before reaching the finish line at the Adriatic coast.
With that much water, and so close to Venice, it doesn't come as a surprise that Jesolo's main economic sector is - tourism. Having just around 25,000 residents, the town accomodates more than five million tourists per year!
Let's see if the riders will join some of them benefitting from the Lido di Jesolo, taking a bath in the Lagoon after today's stage! But first the work, right? And according to the bookies, the sprinters should be the ones doing the best work today, as they once more list Kennaugh and Demare on top, joined by Eislers. Van Poppel, Appollonio and Hsu are next. Goss, Granjel Cabrera, Nizzolo and Afewerki - who didn't participate in any sprint so far - round off their list. They are again ignoring Contreras, who won stage 10 from a bunch sprint!
Will they be right this time? Or will the breakaway surprise the pack once again? Without the least obstacle in the way, and with no wind, there's again no excuse for the sprinter teams to not make the catch - but we'll see!
After a rainy day, the riders will be happy that the sun has come back today. The conditions are perfect for a great day of cycling - so let's get it started!
As most of the times, it doesn't take long until we get the first breakaway attempts. Barthe, Haugard and Holmes are first in trying to get clear.
And yet the next trio, consisting of Kastrantas, Nych and Cosnefroy.
Three by three by three - now it's Danacik's, Daniel's and Boom's turn.
But apparently, the pack has decided that they won't allow a large group today, and so Canty is already setting quite a massive pace!
Back to the start, as Leung reels in everyone. 7 kilometers done, as we're back to gruppo compatto.
Not for long, of course, as Van Zandbeek and Gabburo capitalize on a temporary disorganization in the pack and get clear.
Two stage winners are trying to catch up: Nych and van der Poel, who is targetting the hat trick today!
Kastrantas and Vanbilsen are the next duo to leave behind the pack. However, as Barthe tries to get clear as well, Edet and Sergis immediately want to shut down that move!
While Vanbilsen pushes again, Barthe and Kastrantas are caught - and the chase stops for now. Let's see if we'll have to settle for those five ahead, or if someone else still wants to join them.
It's the former, as Vanbilsen completes the Breakaway of the Day. No more attacks, no serious chase - and so the gap is already up to two minutes after 20 kilometers. As we only have five riders ahead today - the pack obviously didn't allow the group to be larger - let's look at all of them:
Honor to whom honor is due, and so let's first mention van der Poel. He's on a roll, having won the last two stages - and today, he's again the fastest sprinter, at least if we combine sprint, acceleration and resistance.
Vanbilsen matches the Dutchman's top speed, but takes much longer to reach it. However, his big advantage could be his great flat skills, along with a tremendous stamina - this might actually come into play after almost two weeks of cycling.
Nych is really strong on the flat as well, and while he isn't a fast sprinter, at least he has the acceleration it takes for a surprise attacks. Which is his main strength anyway, as he already proved on stage 6 which he won!
Let's go on with the third stage winner we have in this group, Gabburo. He's a good flat rider and a fast sprinter, but has some disadvantages compared with van der Poel and Vanbilsen when it comes down to physical strength. Nonetheless, having already a stage win in the bag can always give that extra boost it takes!
Finally, we have Van Zandbeek. He's decent on the flat as well - but that's pretty much it. He can't really sprint, and his physical values aren't the best, either. However, if he's on a great day, anything is possible even for him!
GC-wise, van der Poel is currently ranked highest, sitting in 31st place. However, more importantly, he's 2nd in the points standings, only 18 points behind Demare. By winning the intermediate sprint, he could reduce this deficit to 8 points! We'll see...
Meanwhile, an alliance of sprinter and GC rider teams has taken control in the pack. We currently see Fung, Schönberger, Ivars, Roe, Novikov, Edet, Conti, Madouas, Aranburu and Sergis sharing the workload. The gap has gone up to three minutes with 130km left.
Nothing else happens, so Naud's puncture is among the most action-loaded events in the following kilometers.
Just a little later, he catches up with Grigrian, who suffered the same fate, but his team car was better positioned. These two reach the back of the pack without any issues.
110km to go. The breakaway's lead is down to 3'27", after it had maxed at about 4 minutes some kilometers ago.
It's not an vigorous chase in the peloton yet, but the gap continues to go down. 3'15" with 100 kilometers to the line. Foss even has the time to do some stretching on the bike.
And the gap further melts by almost a minute within the next 20 kilometers. Still 35km to go until the intermediate sprint - is the peloton even targetting that one?
At least, we can now clearly see that the sprinter teams have taken over, with no more GC contender teams participating in the chase. We can spot Clarke, Hofstede, Aregger, Martin, Van der Kooij, Conti, Edet, Madouas, Rajapakshage and Mano up front. Demare and Van Poppel won't be that pleased to see their designated leadouts working already now!
van der Poel doesn't seem to be interested in these points, as he didn't even try to cross the line first. He still picks up some:
1. Vanbilsen - 10 (16)
2. van der Poel - 6 (99)
3. Nych - 4 (70)
4. Van Zandbeek - 2 (2)
5. Gabburo - 1 (42)
Which means that Demare's lead in the Maglia Ciclamino standings has shrunk to 12 points. If the group makes it to the line, it's highly likely that the jersey changes shoulders tonight - but we're still quite far off such a scenario!
46km away, to be precise.
The peloton's deficit is down to two minutes as Niu leads them across the line. First Aregger, now Niu working - who's left then for Demare's leadout?
With 20 kilomters to go, the pack is only trailing by 48" - which is the trigger for Van Zandbeek's attack! He's likely the weakest rider of the group, so that's clearly the way to go for him!
But that move didn't even last a single kilometer. One thing is clear: if they don't work together now, they'll stand no chance to win this stage!
Team Puma - SAP are clearly trying to make up for yesterday's horrible strategy. Rumors are that the team manager even threated to sell the whole squad - which, along with the frustration about the tactics, led to Demare even considering to leave the race!
However, his teammates convinced him of his great win chance today, and they told him the whole team would stand behind him at 100% today - which is what Cavagna, Sagiv and Madouas are proving now.
Now it's van der Poel on the move! And unlike Van Zandbeek before him, he instantly gets a gap - but will it be enough to hold off his companions and the peloton?
Nych actually tried to catch him solo, but is caught by the three others under the 10km arc. van der Poel is still a few seconds ahead, but he isn't looking that fresh any more.
The peloton, now led by Bystrom, is still 40 seconds behind, though!
The group is back together as they arrive in Jesolo, and they still have a 32" lead! 8.5km still to go, however.
What are these people doing on the road? Send them off, but instantly! This exact place marks the U-turn which will lead the riders onto the final stretch - about 4 kilometers long!
The pack has only a 21" gap now - does anyone have enough left in his legs to make it to the line solo? Nych already fooled the pack like this on stage 6 - but then he had some wind support, which is completely absent today.
Three kilometers to go, and the breakaway still holds on to this small lead!
We can see two trains taking shape: Niu - Aregger - Demare and Paez - Major - Kennaugh. Appollonio, Eislers, Meyer, Nizzolo and Zhao are lined up behind the Brit, whereas Van Poppel, Contreras, Afewerki, Goss, Granjel Cabrera and Hsu are still inside the main group. Which doesn't necessarily have to be a disadvantage at this point.
Two kilometers left - and it's over for the escapees! So close!
We only have the Team Puma train still rolling, with Air France and eBuddy having messed up - for the former, Paez is side by side with Aregger, while Major is quite a lot further back, and for the latter, Boswell has much too big of a gap with Van der Kooij as well!
The other sprinters have meanwhile switched from Kennaugh to Demare, seeing that the latter's sprint preparation works out much better!
Fiamma Rossa! Aregger is doing a stunning job for Demare, as a few sprinters now have a gap with the rest! Let's try to get an overview of the current situation with 1,000 meters to go!
Aregger
Major
Demare
Kennaugh
Appollonio
Van der Kooij
Eislers
Cullaigh
Van Poppel
Boswell
Meyer
Niu
Nizzolo
Contreras
Paez
Zhao
Goss
Vermeltfoort
Granjel Cabrera
Van Zandbeek
Cavagna
Kneisky
Hsu
Some of the sprinters have completely missed that move - or could simply not follow the acceleration! Kennaugh is now back to level with Demare, while Appollonio is already about to launch his sprint!
Afewerki is still further behind - he's trying to sprint, but he wasn't careful enough in the preparation phase!
It's finally the duel we have all been waiting for - Demare vs. Kennaugh! The Brit has got the edge at the moment, but there are still 700 meters to go! And Appollonio is currently faster than the front two.
Eislers has to avoid Aregger, who delivered his sprinter in perfect position today. Van der Kooij is still far ahead of Van Poppel and may actually compete on his own now!
Cullaigh is about to fly past Major and is actually in contention as well!
Major has clearly stopped sprinting and hence has dropped to 10th position. The nine riders ahead of him are:
Demare
Kennaugh
Appollonio
Van der Kooij
Eislers
Cullaigh
Van Poppel
Meyer
Aregger
Those behind are closing in, but they'll be too late for a big stage result! 500m to the line!
With 300 meters to go, Demare has a tiny, tiny edge over Kennaugh, and Appollonio is just a few inches back as well!
Van der Kooij actually seems to be able to go faster, but he can't get past the Italian!
Eislers is now quickly closing in, as is Van Poppel. Cullaigh seems to have not much left, and Meyer simply suffers from his bad starting position.
Further behind, Nizzolo and Contreras are now flying past Aregger, with Hsu and Zhao even further back. Then we have Kanter, Afewerki, Kneisky, Goss and Granjel Cabrera - and even breakaway riders Vanbilsen and Gabburo are trying to sprint!
Only 200m left - and we can't really say who is the current leader! It's neck and neck between Demare and Kennaugh, with Appollonio still being these few inches back!
Eislers is now moving past Van der Kooij - but has to beware of Van Poppel, who has found his speed now and is moving really fast!
Just like Meyer, but he's probably too far back to get into contention for the win or even the podium!
Now Demare has "clearly" taken the lead, a few inches ahead of Kennaugh! Appollonio is now fading, while Eislers and Van Poppel are the fastest on the road! This isn't over yet!
Only 50 meters left! Kennaugh is fading, but Eislers isn't at all! Can Demare hold on and finally get this win?
Or can Appollonio or Van Poppel find something extraordinary and move past the Frenchman?
Oooooh, that was close! But Arnaud Demare finally gets his stage win! He must be grateful that the race wasn't 50 meters longer, as Ingus Eislers was flying on those final meters - but has to settle for 2nd, just like three days ago! What a finale, wow!
But who gets third? The fading Kennaugh or the flying Van Poppel? Meyer is moving really fast as well, but that seems to be too late!
Peter Kennaugh holds on to 3rd, while Danny Van Poppel has to settle for 4th. Both had a sub-par leadout, which might have been the difference between stage win and podium - or even a missed podium! Two more chances to come for the sprinters, though.
Meanwhile, the fight for 5th is still on between Appollonio and Meyer!
Davide Appollonio edges out Cameron Meyer for 5th place. It looked great for the Italian almost until the line - but the last 100m were 100 meters too much for him. He'll definitely be disappointed - but as we said, two chances are yet to come.
Bas Van der Kooij then just holds on to 7th, ahead of Giacomo Nizzolo and Emiliano Contreras. Both are really disappointed, as they simply were unable to follow the decisive move.
And who takes the final Top 10 spot? It looked great for Cullaigh, but he has completely broken down and has to fight against Hsu and maybe even Zhao to at least salvage some points.
It's Jingbiao Zhao who takes 10th place, ahead of Hsuan Ping Hsu and a completely empty Gabriel Cullaigh. The Brit probably was alone in the wind for too long - and his bad starting position didn't help to conserve enough energy for the end.
Matthew Goss then takes 13th, Raul Granjel Cabrera 14th. Both will want to get their positioning right next time as well!
And finally, we have Elias Afewerki taking the last points - ahead of teammates Max Kanter and Morgan Kneisky. They should also play this a bit better next time!
The Top 20 are then completed by Kenneth Vanbilsen, Davide Gabburo and Timothy Roe. No more points for the breakaway riders, but still a strong performance to hold on to a Top 20!
But the big winner today clearly is someone else - let's cheer on him, as the victory celebration is about to start!
Ladies and gentlemen, here is Arnaud Demare! After yesterday's disaster, Team Puma - SAP showed the perfect reaction today - first working hard to reel in the breakaway, and then by perfectly preparing the sprint for their leader - well done!
Ingus Eislers was again the fastest rider on the closing meters, just like he was three days ago - but again, he has to settle for 2nd today. Two chances remaining to still get his win!
And last but not least, Peter Kennaugh takes 3rd place today - after it looked like a very close neck-and-neck race between him and Demare, he finally slightly faded, but still salvaged his second podium spot.
All of the stage favorites finished inside the Top 15 today - probably a first for the bookmakers in this Giro!
With today's win, Arnaud Demare has also clearly extended his lead in the points standings, now having a total score of 161. He has definitely been the most consistent sprinter so far, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd places out of four flat stages. Furthermore, he took 2nd on a hilly stage - which places him definitely one category above the rest. The new points system is clearly paying off for him so far - let's see if the climbers can still get close with 5 mountain stages left!
Mathieu van der Poel holds on to his 2nd place, trailing by 62 points, followed by Ingus Eislers, who now has a total score of 86 points and is 75 points behind Demare. With only two flat stages left, that's going to be a tough job to stop the Frenchman!
There were no notable changes in the GC today, given that all but one rider finished inside the pack. Kamil Malecki still leads ten minutes ahead of his teammate Steven Kruijswijk and 10'15" ahead of Christian Mager. While Malecki will very probably hold on to his lead, the rest of the podium will likely look quite different after tomorrow's stage - especially Mager is in danger of dropping quite far down the rankings. But we'll see, the stage first has to be ridden!
Kamil Malecki still leads the U25 standinds as well, of course, and he still does so 10'34" ahead of Kristaps Budenieks and 17'35" ahead of Egan Bernal.
In the KoM standings, there were no changes, either, as there wasn't a single KoM sprint on the menu today. Nor will there be one tomorrow, meaning that Aleksandar Roman still leads with 42 points, ahead of Petr Vakoc with 34 and Kamil Malecki, Kristaps Budenieks, Ian Boswell and Joey Rosskopf, all totalling 26 points.
And last but not least, Gazelle still hold their 10'49" lead over Evonik - ELKO in the team standings - which is not very likely to be less after tomorrow's time trial... However, Team Puma - SAP, sitting in 3rd place with a 11'35" deficit, might get a bit closer on a good day. But it still looks great for the leaders, of course!
With these pictures, we bid you goodbye for today. See you again tomorrow, with our live coverage of the only yet decisive individual time trial in this 2020 Giro d'Italia. 55 kilometers of solo riding await the riders - be prepared for some huge gaps, and maybe some very surprising performances! See you then!
Giro d'Italia 
