At 202km, it's one of the longest stages of this race and with 6 KOMs as well as multiple hills it is also one of the most challenging. De Bie won the other stage for the Puncheurs so he'll be looking to make it 2/2. With tomorrow's stage being almost pan flat, this should be the last opportunity for the riders to make a push for a strong GC result. It could be tough for Kung to hold on to the GC lead.
A 7 man breakaway is established here early on. Sanogo (+ 5'53) Vorobev Boros Kasperkiewicz Stoltz Chatarunga Naud
Not much of an uphill slope for the first KOM sprint of the day and it's Stoltz who wins it. The gap is 3'15 with 140km to go.
Vorobev wins the next KOM which moves him up to 6th, 18 points off the lead. The gap is 2'45 with 112km to go.
The 3rd KOM is passed through with 94km to go. Another different winner of a KOM sprint as it's Kasperkiewicz.
Chatarunga is the only of the breakaway to be dropped from the front. 72km to go and the gap is 2'41.
Naud wins the 4th KOM with Vorobev 2nd. The Russian moves into 2nd but is still 14 points off the lead.
There is disharmony within the breakaway of 6 with 38km to go as their lead is down to only 1'24.
Stoltz wins the 2nd last KOM of the day which takes him to 13 points behind the leader.
19km and the front of the Peloton can sniff the breakaway as the gap is down to 30 seconds.
They haven't given up just yet though as the gap is still 46 seconds with 10km remaining.
The work of Bernal catches the breakaway with 7km to go. There's still 2.1km to the KOM.
6.5km to the finish and we have action. It's Wirtgen (4th @ + 24") who is making a move, not just for the stage win, but in an effort to win the GC as well!
Hagen and Koretzky are the strongest riders to respond. Cavagna (2nd @ +5") is trying to react as well.
Wirtgen goes through the KOM with a gap to the Peloton. Hagen is staying close to him. Koretzky is struggling to keep up as the Peloton is on the charge from behind.
Van Baarle (5th @ +35") is one of many dropped behind.
His team mate, Oliveira (3rd @ +7"), is in front of that group but behind the Leaders group.
The 13 man leaders group includes GC leader Kung who is clinging on to the back. 6th place Wurtz (+42") is in here too. The Puma duo of Cavagna (2nd @ + 5") and Ganna (7th @ + 1'09) are also present.
In front of them it's still Hagen who is 12 seconds ahead and Wirtgen still in the lead with an additional 12 second gap.
700m now for Wirtgen who has a 21 second gap to Hagen. He is still 11 seconds ahead of this leaders group who are under the kite.
De Bie launches his acceleration from the group which sees him surpass Hagen while the gap to Wirtgen is coming down fast but it's too late.
Tom Wirtgen is not to be denied! The man from Luxembourg wins Stage 7 and may just move into the GC lead as well!
De Bie wins the sprint for 2nd ahead of a fast finishing Ulissi. Hagen holds on for 4th ahead of Waeytens. They are given a gap of + 16" to the stage winner.
Puma-SAP duo Cavagna and Ganna are 6th and 7th. Per is 8th, Wurtz 9th and Bewley 10th.
Kung finishes behind this group of 13 in 15th on the stage. He is + 40".
Marzuki leads through the next group of 23 at + 57".
Wirtgen does indeed move into the GC lead. Cavagna remains in 2nd @ + 17". Kung drops to 3rd. Wurtz climbs up to 4th. Oliveira also drops from 3rd to 5th. Ganna moves up as well to 6th.
Bewley still leads the Points but it's a narrow 5 point gap. However, he should benefit from the final stage tomorrow.
Goldstein benefits from multiple different KOM sprint winners today and maintains his lead by 9 points.
Wirtgen does of course lead the U25s as well. Ganna remains in 2nd.
The big day for EA Vesuvio sees them move into the lead in the Teams. Generali are 2nd while Puma-SAP drop to 3rd.
