Back to racing -- it's the last week of the Giro, with many more challenges coming up!
Constant attacks out of the lead group.
Santambrogio is now two minutes back. He is leading a small group with several Sky riders in it, and they are certainly not going to help him move up and potentially endanger Uran's GC osition.
Uran joins them, and Nibali sees the danger, moving up to join them.
Kangert jumps! And is promptly marked by Gesink.
Lampre has two riders at the front, and Nibali moves to be with them.
He is back int the group, which is now about 12-15 riders.
As they near the bottom, Betancur takes a slight lead.
That is too many for Sanchez, who goes n front. Evans has now caught the lead group, and we gather, Uran as well.
Scarponi has also caught the three leaders, so we have a high-powerd foursome in front -- with two more just catching them.
Is he looking for the stage win here?
NIbali has jumped and is ctching up to the two leaders!
Nibali comes close to a wall on a curve -- very close...
Santambrogio is not in the favourites' group but does perhaps have a chance to catch them again.
A very technical descent, some narrow cobbled roads in town, turning over to woods and countryside.
Looks like about 15 riders chasing Betancur on this descent. Samuel Sanchez of Euskaltel is nearing him, and the Colombian is happy to have the support.
Scarponi was third over the mountain.
PIrazzi does pick up four points and promptly slows down - his work is done for the day.
Pirazzi won't give up, as he attackes yet again. But Betancur passes him with an attack -- not to get the mountain points (which he does) but to go for the whole thing!
It looks as if Pirazzi will have no chance for thoese points. Nibali leads the chase that catches the two.
Pelizotti attacks out of the favourites' group, which is now only a few meters behind the two leaders.
Pirazzi jumps yet again and passes Duarte. Behind them, Nibali has moved in front of Kangert, ready to react to any danger.
PIrazzi fights hard to follow Duarte.
Duarte is the next to go from the lead group, but the favourites' group is only seconds back.
Santanbrogiu is not in the group of favourites.
The lead group comes togethr and falls apart with regulartiy. But Pirazzi is desperate to get the mountain points, and keeps jumping.
Pirazzi moves up to the leaders, and takes off on his own. Durae is the next to go, having caught the leading group.
Herrade pulls away, but Navardauskas pulls up to him.
Kangert is now at the front of the favourites' group, doing the job he has done so often in this race.
Nibali and Evans, with other favourites, are in a group which has gotten a gap on the field.
Many attacks out of the peloton now.
Looks like Cavendish is dropping off the back of the field.
Bole is definitely suffering on this long climb.
Navardauskas has joined the two leaders.
The Colombia rider is Duarte, and he has now caught the first rider to fall back from the chase group.
Herrado and Verdugo have a minimal lead on the group, as thy suffer up the steepest part of the climb.
A Colombia rider has now jumped from the field.
RadioShack back up front again, as they climb up through some very narrow streets in town.
oh dear, some male fans wearing what look like bumble bee tutus..... as the group catches Pirazzi again.
PIrazzi promptly jumps, and Kelderman gives chase.
The five chasers have caught the three leaders, giving us eight up front now. The gap is only 49 seconds back to the field, though.
All the gaps are falling: 15 seconds to the chase group, and 1:11 to the peloton.
At last RadioShack is happy with things they are now, and they have pulled out of the lead work.
30km to go, and it won't be easy for those three out there in front.
This new situation seems to make the peloton happy again. The gap goes back up to 1:30.
There is a group of five chasing the three leaders: Navardauskas, Verdugo, Bole, Pirazzi and Herrada
Di Luca apparently had a mechanical problem and is already back in the peloton.
The former break group has now broken up. They have entered the finish town of Ivrea and will take off on a 40km circuit course, including the final climb, before coming back to town for the finish line.
Pat has caught the other two leaders, and they have a 19 second gap.
Meanwhile we have 39km to go and the gap is 1.28.
We have two riders in front, Kelderman and Sella, with Pate giving chase.
Constant attacks out of the lead group. Verdugo and Navardauskas give it a go -- but no go.
Winning the 15th stage was a very emotional moment for Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), particularly with regards to its association with Marco Pantani – the two men share the same birthday.
Rabottini is the next to jump, followed by all of the others....
Carus now leads a little group. He is in fact, the reason for the whole chase. If he would drop back, the field may very well just let the rest of the break group go.
The front group had come together, but Pate tries again. Rodriguez catches him, with more behind him. The group is sort-of together now but certainly not working as a group.
Navaradauskas leads a group up to the three leaders and just flies on by.
In fact the group is splitting into smaller groups, as the gap has dropped to 1:58.
Meier gives chase and catches them.
Pate and Sutherland realize the end is approaching for this group, and take off.
The field crosses the sprint line 2:10 down. The points went in this order: Di Luca, Rabottni, Pirazzi.
We have the first intermedaite sprint of the day. Rabbotini, Di Luca and Pirazzi jump for the points.
The gap is really plummeting now, down to 2:34. Is it time to start the chorus of "Don't catch them too soon....." ?
RadioShack and Katusha have now firmly taken control of the chase, and the gap has dropped to 3:19.
RadioShack is apparently riding in support of Robert Kiserlovski, who is 11th overall. Evidently they see the break group as a thread to that.
The gap has dropped to four minutes, and falling, but it looks like the peloton has taken the speed out a bit.
Evans is tucked in safely amongst his teammates, looking grim, as usual.
Euskaltel's Verdugo drops back to the team care to take off and drop off his arm warmers.
The gap got too high for Astana, we gather. Katusha and RadioShack are helping with the chase, and the peloton is strung out single file, flying along.
The lead group is back in sunshine again, and now has a gap of 5:04.
The lead group is going over one of those bumps on the road, with Di Lucas leading the way.
German Andreas Klier spent 17 years on the bike, and has just now moved over to the team car. He talked to Cyclingnews about what is like “on the other side”.
Sella tried once again to get away, but was again unsuccessful. And the gap has now crept up to 4:44.
Unfortunately we see a few raindrops. We hope there aren't any more!
Stefano Garzelli has dropped back to the VIni Fantini car for a moment.
Lotto's Kenny De Haes does some fancy leg stretching exercises on his bike, while riding at full speed.
Navardauskas leads the break. He would no doubt dearly love to take another stage win here.
Fabio Felline of Androni has jumped from the field and has a few meters' lead. Is he seriously trying to move up? No. He stopped to greet family and friends on the side of the road.
Nothing has really changed. The 22 riders up front have a 4:04 lad, and Astana is leading the chase.
Taylor Phinney has abandoned the Giro. The BMC rider had to leave due to saddle sores.
It is cool and slightly overcast today -- which by this Giro's standards, is fantastic weather.
The gap was never huge, and has now started creeping down, to 3:50.
Astana is leading the chase, of course.
Sky's Dario Cataldo has an unusual hobby: designing shoes. Racing shoes, that is. Take a look and listen here.
Team Sky realize that they can probably no longer win this Giro -- but they are determined to do what they can against Vincenzo Nibali.
The feeding zone has been reached, marking roughly the half-way mark in the stage.
There are two ranked climbs in today's stage, the Cenis early on – you remember that one, with all the snow banks – but the more interesting one comes near the finish. The Andrate is only a category three, but it has a six km long climb, with a gradient of up to 13%. Then there is a 10 km long descent, leaving about 7.5 km of flat run-in to the finish. Although there is a significant bump with about two km to go, which could be the scene of the final escape attempt....
They didn't get away, though.
The group was apparently too big for Sella. He has tried to jump, followed by Kelderman and Navardauskas.
The gap is now at 4:20. But remember, we aren't even halfway through the stage yet!
Most combative rider to date is Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), best young rider is Carlos Betancur (AG2R), and best team is Sky.
As expected, the gap has started to grow now that the terrain has flattened out. It is up to 3:30.
Let's look at some more of the special classificaitons, such as the sprint ranking:
1 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 20 pts
2 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 19
3 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 18
4 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 15
5 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 13
6 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 13
7 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 13
8 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 11
9 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 11
10 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 10
The lead group has gone some 98 km now, and is nearly at the foot of the descent. From there it is rolling-to-bumpy until the climb near the end.
And so far the gap is still holding at 3 minutes.
The peloton is keeping this group on a short line -- the gap is remaining steady around the 3 minute mark.
Looks like Pirazzi didn't get those 15 points after all. Officialy it is now said that Rodriguez was first over the line, with Pirazzi second and Sella third.
The Giro d'Italia has returned to Italy! They crossed the boundary from France on the descent.
And just to have them all together in one place again, our break group consists of:
Danny Pate (Sky), Wilco Kelderman (Blanco), Eros Capecchi (Movistar), Jose Herrada (Movistar), Grega Bole (Vacansoleil DCM), Tobias Ludvigsson (Argos), Christian Meier (Orica GreenEDGE), Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani), Matteo Rabottini (Vini Fantini), Jackson Rodriguez (Androni), Emanuele Sella (Androni), Jose Serpa (Lampre-Merida), Rory Sutherland (Saxo-Tinkoff), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEDGE) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp), Edoardo Zardini (Bardiani Valvole), Francis De Greef (Lotto Belisol), Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini), Darwin Atapuma (Colombia), Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) and Robinson Chalapud (Colombia)
Caruso is the best-placed rider in the group, at 9:57 down.
Zardini and De Greef have caught the lead group, giving us 22 riders up front.
And to no one's surprise, Pirazzi does it again, and takes 15 points for being first over the top.
Since the lead field is nearly atop the Cenis, this mght be a good time to review the mountain rankings:
1 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 65 pts
2 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 42
3 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia 28
4 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 26
5 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 23
6 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 18
7 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 18
8 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 17
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 15
10 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 13
Zardini and De Greef are within 20 seconds of the lead group.
Reinforcements have come up, with Di Luca, Atapuma, Caruso & Chalapud joining the break.
The gap has now gone out to over 3 minutes, so the bunch are tackling the climb at a fairly conservative pace after yesterday's rest day.
We've seen a number of these riders jump clear in breaks throughout the race. Navardauskas is the only one to pick up a stage win though, while Pirazzi and Rodriguez are here to battle it out for the KOM points first and foremost.
The break's advantage has dropped though, it's down to 1'30 as they tackle the lower slopes of Mont Cenis.
The riders in the break are: Danny Pate (Sky), Wilco Kelderman (Blanco), Eros Capecchi (Movistar), Jose Herrada (Movistar), Grega Bole (Vacansoleil DCM), Tobias Ludvigsson (Argos), Christian Meier (Orica GreenEDGE), Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani), Matteo Rabottini (Vini Fantini), Jackson Rodriguez (Androni), Emanuele Sella (Androni), Jose Serpa (Lampre-Merida), Rory Sutherland (Saxo-Tinkoff), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEDGE) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp)
54km of racing and the gap has gone out to two minutes.
Kelderman was joined by 15 riders, with the names still to be confirmed through the race radio. It looks like we've got our break for the day.
The group of 16 have close to a minute on the main bunch now.
The rest day seems to have reinvigorated a number of riders, with attacks right, left and centre.
We'll bring you the names as soon as we have them.
The leading group now has 46 seconds.
Either a very large group has gotten away or the peloton has split. The situation is not clear.
Mark Cavendish will celebrate his birthday in the red jersey of the leader in the points ranking:
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 109 pts
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 91
3 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 84
4 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 79
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 74
6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 72
7 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 71
8 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 61
9 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 61
10 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 55
We now hear that he too has been caught. We must also say that there is not a lot of information available at the moment.
We now hear that he too has been caught. We must also say that there is not a lot of information available at the moment.
Speaking of Blanco, they are down one (actually, down another one) today. Maarten Wijnants did not start. Jack Bobridge had earlier abandoned the race.
Do we have our first serious break attempt? Blanco's Wilco Kelderman has 20 seconds on the field.
The peloton has covered 30km now, and is still all together.
Speaking of race leaders, does everyone remember our top ten? If not, you can check them out here:
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 62:02:34
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:26
3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:46
4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:47
5 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:03:53
6 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:04:35
7 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:05:15
8 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:05:20
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:05:57
10 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:06:21
Riders continue to try and get away and continue to fail to do so. Stefano Pirazzi is near the front of the field -- he wants to grab those mountain points atop Cenis.
Today's stage starts out in France, but they cross the border back to Italy after 78.1 kilometers, on the Mont Cenis descent.
What do the race leaders do on the rest day? Take a look at our newest gallery to see what Vincenzo Nibali and Cadel Evans did.
The field has reached the bottom of the Telegraphe and is now ready to climb Cenis. Oh joy.
We have had our first breakaway attempt. Manuele Boaro (Saxo-Tinkoff) tried to get away early, but the peloton foiled his plans.
Happy Birthday to Mark Cavendish! The Manxman turns 28 today. And for a look at what all he has done in this Giro, take a look at our photo gallery. Think he can take stage win number 5 today?
The race is indeed underway, and the peloton has stayed together for the first five kilometers. We doubt it will be too much longer before a break group forms. But will they really want to tackle the Cenis on their own?
We have not yet heard how many riders took to the start today. 180 riders finished on Sunday, so 27 have left the race so far.
If things have gone according to schedule, then the race should be underway already!
As our stage preview puts it, “The stage will conclude with a loop around Ivrea, and with a mouthwatering climb to Andrate on the menu, the final 20 kilometres look terrific. It’s the perfect day for the break to stick, so everyone will be going for it. Which leads to the inescapable conclusion that the winner will be… anybody’s guess.”
Today's stage might look sort of familiar, but backwards, so to speak. The group will greet the Col du Telegraphe once more and tackle Mont Cenis again, before taking off towards to finish line. It's a long one, too, 238 kilometers.
Welcome back to the Giro! The end is now in sight, with only six stages left to go. Today is a long one -- how will everyone have come through the hard (and cold!) weekend stages and a rest day?
Vincenzo Nibali Astana Pro Team 
Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez AG2R La Mondiale 
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez Euskaltel Euskadi 
Przemyslaw Niemiec Lampre-Merida Michele Scarponi Lampre-Merida Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team 
Robert Gesink Team Blanco 
Tanel Kangert Astana Pro Team Fabio Aru Astana Pro Team 
Rafal Majka Team Saxo-Tinkoff 
Rigoberto Uran Sky Procycling 
Stefano Pirazzi Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox