Luke Plapp took a coming-of-age victory at the end of a tough, attritional stage eight of the 2025 Giro d’Italia, attacking solo 44km from the finish and taking a first Grand Tour stage win on the line in Castelraimondo.
The Australia was part of a nearly 20-strong breakaway group that escaped on a frantic, relentless hilly stage in the Apennines, with the group fragmenting over the course of a difficult up-and-down parcours.
There was also a surprise move in the general classification as the Italian veteran Diego Ulissi claimed the maglia rosa.
The XDS Astana man took third on the stage but the bonus seconds, and a nearly four-minute lead on the peloton, were enough to see him pull on pink and end a four-year drought for a home wearer of the iconic jersey.
His teammate Lorenzo Fortunato stills leads the king of the mountains classification and also moved into second overall, while Juan Ayuso took back one second of his deficit to race favourite Primoz Roglic and now sits three seconds off the Slovenian.
Follow all the action with The Independent’s liveblog here:
Giro d'Italia stage 8 LIVE
- Chance for the breakaway on a second hilly Apennine stage
- GC shakeup after stage seven as Juan Ayuso took his first Grand Tour stage win
- Primoz Roglic now leads the GC by four seconds over the Spaniard
- Luke Plapp takes maiden Grand Tour stage win
'It's been a long time coming' - Luke Plapp
16:42 , Flo Clifford“It’s pretty crazy, I still can’t believe it to be honest,” Luke Plapp says. “I fele like it’s been a long time coming, always targeting the Aussie summer and just never been able to make a result happen in Europe. Last year I got so close at the Giro so many times. For today to happen is so, so special. We marked it as a stage and this morning on the bus we were really excited, so to make it happen is a dream come true.
“Jeez, that was unbelievable, the fight to get into the breakaway,” he laughs. It just kept going and going, there was one point when I was following Wout so many times I almost dropped myself, then gave it one more chance. It was all worth it in the end.”
Luke Plapp wins stage eight
16:36 , Flo CliffordThis is the biggest win of Luke Plapp’s career, and the Aussie’s team look set to honour it. “There’s going to be a big party,” a Jayco AlUla sports director says at the finish line.
Stage eight results
16:28 , Flo Clifford1) Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), in 4:44:20
2) Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike), +38”
3) Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana), +38”
4) Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), +1’22”
5) Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), +1’35”
6) Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), +1’48”
7) Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana), +1’48”
8) Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), +2’59”
9) Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL), +3’02”
10) Alessio Martinelli (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizane), +4’37”
Diego Ulissi takes maglia rosa!
16:20 , Flo CliffordEmotional scenes in the XDS Astana camp as it’s confirmed that Diego Ulissi, the veteran, the eight-time stage winner, is now the leader of the Giro d’Italia.
Italy end a four-year wait for a maglia rosa.
Ayuso steals a march on Roglic
16:19 , Flo CliffordAs the peloton approaches the line Juan Ayuso - yesterday’s stage winner - makes a late dash to steal some seconds off Roglic. The pink jersey reacts late again and it looks like there will be a gap between the two.
Peloton approaches finish
16:18 , Flo CliffordIt looks like the peloton have really knocked off the speed and Ulissi could just about cling on to his virtual pink...
Can Ulissi take pink?
16:15 , Flo CliffordBehind Plapp Ulissi and Kelderman sprint for the bonus seconds and the Italian concedes second place to the Visma man.
10 bonus seconds for Plapp, six for Kelderman, four for Ulissi, who needs 3:55 over the peloton to claim the maglia rosa.
Arrieta is fourth, Prodhomme fifth, Vendrame sixth, and Fortunato seventh over the line.
Luke Plapp wins stage eight!
16:13 , Flo CliffordA glorious day for the Australian, who soaks in the applause of the crowds and looks like he can’t quite believe it.
Flamme rouge
16:12 , Flo CliffordPlapp goes under the 1km to go mark and he’s so close to a maiden Grand Tour stage win.
Pidcock attacks! (3km to go)
16:10 , Flo CliffordBack in the bunch Tom Pidcock accelerates and the GC teams immediately switch on to drag him back.
It all means that Ulissi’s chances of taking pink are vanishing away. He has nine seconds to play with as it stands.
Gap closing (6km to go)
16:07 , Flo CliffordKelderman and Ulissi have discarded Arrieta and are closing in on Plapp, 52 seconds down, but it might be a case of too little, too late.
The gap to the peloton has shrunk too - down to 5:30 - as UAE pile on the pace. Ineos fancy a bit of this too.
Plapp leads, Arrieta caught (10km to go)
16:04 , Flo CliffordArrieta made a good fist of it but he’s caught, and Ulissi makes it clear he won’t get a free ride again as he and Kelderman look to keep the pace high. But they’re 1:09 behind Plapp and it does look like Plapp has got this one.
There’s still 3km left to the wall of the 12%, 800m Gagliole climb.
Arrieta attacks (20km to go)
15:46 , Flo CliffordArrieta has been sitting on for a while and he now attacks, dropping Ulissi and Kelderman and setting off in pursuit of Plapp.
The four are on the short, sharp Castel Santa Maria climb, with the Red Bull kilometre at the top.
The Fortunato group have reeled in Steinhauser and all the gaps are coming down - Arrieta is within 57 seconds of Plapp, the Fortunato group 2:10 back.
Does Plapp have this in the bag? (23km to go)
15:40 , Flo CliffordPlapp has extended his gap to 1:13 and it does rather look as if the stage win is disappearing up the road. His team car have delivered some carbs and things are looking up.
As of right now, Lorenzo Fortunato has a 14 second lead in the virtual GC over his teammate Diego Ulissi. After four years without a maglia rosa Italy could have the top two.
Plapp in the lead (28km to go)
15:32 , Flo CliffordFar from losing time on the descent, Plapp is extending his gap. He’s giving it everything while all the fragmented groups behind aren’t quite working cohesively together. No-one wants to work harder than their companions.
He signals to his team car for some refreshments; there’s still a long way to go and he’s clearly suffering. He’s 42 seconds clear of Ulissi, Kelderman, and Arrieta.
Back in the peloton, UAE fancy some psychological warfare and they’re now working to keep the gap down to force Roglic to keep the pink jersey.
Action shots
15:25 , Flo Clifford
Plapp goes solo (44km to go)
15:18 , Flo CliffordBardet is going backwards. He’s now 1:28 back and caught by Fortunato and Prodhomme. Heartbreaking after such a phenomenal start.
Up front, Plapp has got a second or third or fourth wind and is attacking again to take max points on the top of the climb. His descending is not quite so great so he may be caught by his three pursuers in due course.
Behind them, Steinhauser crosses the top 34 seconds down.
State of play (46km to go)
15:12 , Flo CliffordThere’s riders all over the shop. Plapp made it across to Arrieta and Steinhauser before Arrieta set off in pursuit of Kelderman and Ulissi, leaving the other two 19 seconds back - and now Plapp has made it on too.
Behind them Bardet and Vendrame are toiling, around 30 seconds back, and Prodhomme and Fortunato have abandoned their companions, 1:30 back.
And in the peloton Bahrain have come to the front, for mysterious reasons. Teeing up Tiberi? Trying to put pressure on Red Bull?
1.4km for the front group to the top of the climb.
Kelderman and Ulissi escape (50km to go)
15:03 , Flo CliffordAttack in the front group now. Kelderman and Ulissi have a gap and drag it out to 22 seconds ahead of the Montelago climb - apologies for an error in that previous post, it should have read 3km to the start of Montelago.
Once they get over the top of this one there’s a 20km descent.
Bardet’s panic alarms are going off and he’s set off in search of the first two, with Plapp and Vendrame following - Plapp overtakes and goes straight past Bardet!
Frigo counter-attacks (54km to go)
14:57 , Flo CliffordThe Israel Premier-Tech man counters in the chase group but his move is snuffed out and they’re all looking around at each other and failing to cooperate. Fortunato isn’t doing any work with his teammate, eight-time Giro stage winner Diego Ulissi, in the front group and the most likely candidate to take pink now.
They’re onto the Montelago climb and have 3km to the summit.
Seven-man lead group (58km to go)
14:49 , Flo CliffordThe dust has settled a little bit after that relentless period of attacking.
There are seven men out front: Kelderman, Bardet, Plapp, Ulissi, Arrieta, Steinhauser and Vendrame. Some serious climbing firepower in this group.
The Fortunato-Van Baarle group is now 1:27 and counting behind them and the peloton at 5:49.
Red Bull happy to give up jersey (68km to go)
14:37 , Flo CliffordThis group is massive again and the infighting continues. Dylan van Baarle tries to get a gap on a short descent but the Visma man is brought back, with Plapp the next to go. Steinhauser and Arrieta get onto his wheel and it’s Kelderman now who is trying to bring them back. All fragmenting in the breakaway. It’s exhausting to watch and no doubt tiring to be part of.
On the TNT Sports motorbike, Jens Voigt says he’s had confirmation that Red Bull are happy to concede the pink jersey today. Fortunato is the best placed to do so.
Bardet group swells (72km to go)
14:30 , Flo CliffordBardet, Vendrame, Steinhauser and Fortunato are joined by Plapp, Arrieta, Frigo and Kelderman and it looks like the games are beginning again as Plapp has a speculative dig.
Diego Ulissi bridges across too and there’s still a chance for the pursuers of this fragmented group to make it back on, as they’re 20 seconds down.
In the peloton, Damiano Caruso’s saddle looks to have slipped and he needs a new bike.
Red Bull are back on the front to control proceedings and the gap is under five minutes now.
Scenery check
14:23 , Flo Clifford
Bardet on the march (85km to go)
14:16 , Flo CliffordThis pair have 16 seconds on the chasing group as they fly down this descent. Bardet is a demon descender and he’s rolling back the years today, but Andrea Vendrame and Georg Steinhauser are getting back on too.
The peloton are 5:10 back and Fortunato is in the virtual lead as it stands, as the highest-placed rider in this group at 2:57 back.
On TNT Sports Adam Blythe is disappointed in Tom Pidcock for not getting himself into this break - the uphill parcours and the finish of today’s stage stage really suit him, but he’s probably got his mind on tomorrow’s gravel stage to Siena.
Bardet attacks for KOM points! (90km to go)
14:09 , Flo CliffordThe veteran Frenchman takes Fortunato by surprise and launches a long sprint for the KOM points - but the Italian manages to haul himself past him in the last 200m for max 40 points on the highest peak of today’s stage, with Bardet taking 18.
Some impressive climbing by both, and they’ve got a gap on the rest of their troupe.
Breakaway splits (100km to go)
13:41 , Flo CliffordDylan van Baarle puts in a dig to distance those in the break who aren’t pulling their weight.
It has the desired effect and the leading group is down to 13, including a stage winner last year in Georg Steinhauser, van Baarle, Fortunato, Bardet, Kelderman, Arrieta, Tarozzi, and Luke Plapp.
A little over 8km to go on this long climb.
Fortunato wins KOM (103km to go)
13:33 , Flo CliffordFortunato rolls across the intermediate sprint at Sarnano first, but there’s no fight for the points.
Red Bull seem a bit happier with the situation now but there are worrying signs for them as that huge breakaway got away from them. They don’t have the strength in numbers or sheer power of UAE, particularly after the loss of Jai Hindley, and it’s a lot tougher for them to control things.
A gap of a minute and a half back to the fairly reduced bunch now, and they’re onto the Sassotetto (Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena) climb: 13.1km, averaging 7%, with maximum gradients of 14%.
Breakaway doomed to fail? (107km to go)
13:26 , Flo CliffordPlenty of teams are represented in this move: Decathlon, EF, UAE, Israel PremierTech, Movistar, Q36.5, Visma... no Red Bull and no Ineos, which is something of a surprise after the attacking intent shown by Tarling and Turner particularly so far in this race. But there are splits already - inevitable with such a massive group - and Fortunato is encouraging the others to ride hard, with more points for him to gain today.
Manuele Tarozzi is working flat out to haul himself across and there’s another couple of riders behind him too with the same aim.
The break has a minute’s advantage now but that could all change ahead of the category 1 climb. But it looks like we might be set, with riders taking nature breaks in the peloton and looking to relax a bit.
Bardet attacks (113km to go)
13:20 , Flo CliffordRomain Bardet has looked very sprightly and he launches another powerful move uphill again to bridge across to this bunch, dragging Cofidis’ Sylvain Moniquet - Fortunato’s KOM rival - with him.
They get over a little rise and are onto another descent with half a minute’s advantage.
Luke Plapp and UAE’s Igor Arrieta are in this group too, which is closer to 20 riders now.
10 riders up the road (114km to go)
13:15 , Flo CliffordAnother group has formed with around 15 seconds on the bunch. There’s 10 riders or so, including Kelderman, teammate Dylan van Baarle, Remy Rochas and KOM leader Fortunato.
This has just been relentless all day.
All back together (124km to go)
13:04 , Flo CliffordAnd the six are mopped up. Where’s the next move coming from?
There’s another little rise coming before the second intermediate sprint at Sarnano and then the really serious category one climb at Sassotetto.
Technical descent (128km to go)
12:57 , Flo CliffordWe’re now onto quite a tricky, technical descent, and three riders have bridged across to that trio who went over the climb first: Kelderman, Bardet, and Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty).
We can’t yet see a time gap between them and the peloton but it’s strung out behind them as more riders either try to keep safe on this descent or join the escapees.
Quintana, Bardet attack (136km to go)
12:50 , Flo CliffordApproaching the top of this climb and the attacks are simply relentless.
Josh Tarling went further down the climb, and now 2014 champion Nairo Quintana goes clear with a pair of Polti VisitMalta riders. Davide Piganzoli wins the KOM points, followed by Alessandro Tonelli and Quintana. That trio fly off on the descent with Visma in hot pursuit.
Romain Bardet seems no worse for wear after his crash yesterday and he’s rather lively too.
Double at the front (140km to go)
12:42 , Flo CliffordPaul Double, undaunted by his efforts in the breakaway yesterday, is right back in the thick of things now. He’s now third in the KOM points and Lorenzo Fortunato is eyeing him warily as they tackle this climb.
They’re onto the 7km Croce di Casale and it’s pretty cagey - but Double has a dig! Wilco Kelderman drags him back - Visma clearly want something out of this.
Quick tally of the points at that intermediate sprint: Pedersen picked up 12 to add to his healthy lead, with De Pretto taking eight, Cattaneo five, and Milesi the remaining three.
Breakaway sits up (144km to go)
12:36 , Flo CliffordOne job done, Pedersen and his companions sit up, perhaps knowing that the fireworks behind won’t stop.
From here the profile changes quite dramatically, with a category three climb at Croce di Casale approaching in 1km time, and then it’s up and down all here.
The breakaway are absorbed without any fuss and the games begin again.
Intermediate sprint (147km to go)
12:30 , Flo CliffordPedersen accelerates for the first points of the day, on offer at intermediate sprint one at Roccafluvione, and duly takes them.
Behind them van Aert knocks off yet another attack, with Bilbao and yesterday’s KOM supremo Paul Double both active. Everyone is just marking each other and no one can get away. 19 seconds to the trio out front.
Split in the bunch (155km to go)
12:19 , Flo CliffordAbout a million riders have tried to bridge across, with Wout van Aert ever-present, but no-one is given any leeway.
There appears to be a split in the peloton, but not sure if any GC contenders have been caught out. Jan Tratnik goes to the front to set the tempo - has his teammate Roglic been caught out maybe?
Around 25 seconds to the breakway.
No progress (170km to go)
12:03 , Flo CliffordAnother wave of attacks is nullified. There’s a bit of a lull in proceedings, good news for Davide Formolo, who needs a speedy bike change.
Bilbao, van Aert, Bart Lemmen, Ethan Hayter, all among those to have attempts foiled.
The leading trio have 22 seconds as we head onto a short descent.
WVA to win today? (176km to go)
11:54 , Flo CliffordJens Voigt on the camera motorbike picks Wout van Aert to win today, and the Belgian has certainly been active so far. He’s back chasing again along with Marco Frigo and the Luxembourg champion Kevin Geniets.
The trio out front have 12 seconds.
Visma keeping the pace high (181km to go)
11:48 , Flo CliffordRob Hatch on TNT Sports comms says that David Gaudu required stitches on his knuckles yesterday after he went down in the crash that also affected Romain Bardet. The Groupama-FDJ man was seen riding one-handed with his right hand covered in blood.
Edoardo Affini, the European time-trial champ, piles on the pace at the front of the bunch for Visma-Lease a Bike and brings back the Groupama pair of Clement Davy and Remy Rochas.
Pedersen and his two companions have around 20 seconds on the bunch but this by no means feels settled.
Mads Pedersen attacks (187km to go)
11:41 , Flo CliffordNo longer in pink but now in the equally striking purple ciclamino jersey of the points classification leader, Mads Pedersen is the next to move.
He bridges across to Soudal Quick-Steps’ Mattia Cattaneo and Davide de Pretto of Jayco AlUla.
Tom Pidcock is hovering around the back of the peloton - he shipped a little bit of time yesterday and is now 1:10 down on Roglic, but I don’t think GC was ever going to be his main target for this race.
Wout van Aert is on the move again.
Wout van Aert attacks (192km to go)
11:36 , Flo CliffordWout van Aert is among the big names that have a punt, as well as Pello Bilbao, but Red Bull are still vigilant.
Max Kanter’s move for XDS-Astana fizzles out.
Flag drop (197km to go)
11:30 , Flo CliffordKilometre zero and stage eight is underway!
XDS Astana are the first to launch and there are plenty of teams keen to get up the road. Red Bull are hovering to police who’s allowed to go.
Neutralised rollout
11:21 , Flo CliffordThe riders are underway on a sunny day in Giulianova for a brief neutralised start.
Who is leading the Giro d’Italia? Maglia rosa and general classification standings
11:16 , Flo CliffordMads Pedersen’s spell in the leader’s pink jersey came to an end on stage seven as race favourite Primoz Roglic moved into the overall lead.
But his major rival Juan Ayuso took the stage honours and bonus seconds to move within just four seconds of the Slovenian, with the race gearing up to be a shootout between the two big favourites.
Pedersen became the first Dane to wear pink to victory on stage one in Albania and took the honours again at the end of a 160km run to Vlore on Sunday.
He secured a hat-trick of stage wins in the sprints in week one before ultimately passing the baton on the hilly stage seven, with a first summit finish at Tagliacozzo.
Who is leading the Giro d’Italia? Maglia rosa and general classification standings
Giro d’Italia 2025 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days
11:10 , Flo CliffordWant to get ahead on the action after today? Lawrence Ostlere has put together a handy stage-by-stage guide to this year’s race:
Giro d’Italia 2025 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days
Predictions for stage eight
11:03 , Flo CliffordThe up-and-down nature of the climbing today and the fact that the finale to the stage isn’t particularly tough should mean the GC contenders aren’t tempted to have another crack after yesterday’s summit finish showdown.
But it’s hard to predict who, from any possible breakaway, could win this one.
Does Paul Double, who impressed on stage seven, taking maximum KOM points, have enough in the legs to give it another go? Or will the likes of Josh Tarling and Ben Turner get involved? Could home favourites Lorenzo Fortunato and Christian Scaroni delight the local crowds with a win? Today really could be anyone’s game.
'It was how it was' - Primoz Roglic
10:56 , Flo CliffordAnd here’s Primoz Roglic, who was circumspect as ever at the finish.
“I was a bit behind, yeah, I didn't really fight much,” he said.
Asked about keeping the lead, he says, “I don't know, we will see,” as you’d expect him to say.
“The [other] guys are getting closer, maybe they also take it, but we will try to give our best with the whole team.
“They were really amazing today after yesterday when quite a lot of guys were down. So we just continue to give our best.
“It was how it was, I was just not fighting for the win today, but anyway it was a good result. I'm happy.”
'You only have one bullet to use' - Juan Ayuso
10:49 , Flo CliffordHere’s Ayuso’s assessment of his win on stage seven.
“It's my fourth Grand Tour, and especially in the two Vuelta a Españas I raced I was sometimes very close, but I never managed to pull it off, so to finally do it today in my first Giro d'Italia is something super special and I will always remember,” he said after the finish.
“I knew that I only had to do one attack, I couldn't mess around and do two or three. In these finals, which are super explosive, you only have one bullet to use. So I let others start attacking before, and then when I saw my distance, I went full gas into the finish.”
How the GC contenders performed
10:42 , Flo CliffordAyuso was simply unstoppable on stage seven but his teammate Isaac del Toro also climbed brilliantly to take second and deny Roglic any bonus seconds - he could provide UAE with another card to play.
Roglic was caught out of position when Ayuso attacked and probably won’t make that mistake again, but minimsed the damage.
Egan Bernal looked nearly back to his best with third place, in a major boost to Ineos, who have really attacked this race so far and been rewarded for doing so.
There were strong performances too from British climber Max Poole - only 22 and looking really good for the general classification - as well as, at the other end of the spectrum, the 37-year-old veteran Damiano Caruso.
Outside the top 10 but still performing creditably where both Yates brothers - Simon finished 11th, eight seconds down on Ayuso, and Adam 14th, 14 seconds back - as well as Derek Gee, 12th and 11 seconds back.
Thymen Arensman was 17th and 14 seconds off the pace, while Tom Pidcock’s GC challenge continues as he was only 34 seconds down in 20th, just ahead of Mathias Vacek.
General classification after stage seven
10:35 , Flo Clifford1) Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), in 24:32:30
2) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4”
3) Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +9”
4) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +27”
5) Max Poole (Team Picnic PostNL)+30”
6) Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +33”
7) Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +34”
8) Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) +37”
9) Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) +39”
10) Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +39”
Stage eight results
10:28 , Flo Clifford1) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), in 4:20:25
2) Isaac del Toro Isaac (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), +4”
3) Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers), +4”
4) Primoz Roglic Primoz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), +4”
5) Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), +4”
6) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), +4”
7) Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), +4”
8) Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), +4”
9) Max Poole (Team Picnic PostNL), +8”
10) Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), +8”
Stage eight route map and profile
10:21 , Flo Clifford
Start time and how to watch
10:14 , Flo CliffordViewers in the UK can watch the Giro d’Italia on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Stage eight is scheduled to start at 12.15pm local time (11.15am BST) and should conclude by 5.30pm local time (4.30pm BST).
Giro d'Italia stage eight preview
10:07 , Flo CliffordStage eight sets the tone for the majority of this Giro’s mountain stages, with its toughest climb slap bang in the middle of the day. There’s 3,800m of vertical gain in total - more than stage seven, but more spread out, with several uncategorised rises as well as four categorised climbs.
The 197km stage takes in the Teramo and Piceno mountains, with a category three climb at Croce di Casale to warm up the legs before the much tougher, category Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena at just after the halfway mark. It’s 13.1km long and averaging 7%, but it gets tougher the further up you go, with more gentle lower slopes averaging 6% before a 7km section averaging 7% and hitting highs of 14%.
It’s followed by a long, technical descent before a succession of more climbing and more descending, including up to a category three climb at Montelago with around 50km to go.
From there the riders head onto a finishing circuit in and around Castelraimondo, a town that will be familiar to ardent viewers of Tirreno-Adriatico, one of the spring warm-up races. The most notable of the later climbs are the short, steep ramp up to Castel Santa Maria (12–13% gradients for 2 km), which hosts today’s Red Bull kilometre, then a 12%, 800m wall at Gagliole.
Giro d’Italia Stage 8 preview: Map, standings and route to Castelraimondo today
Good morning
10:00 , Flo CliffordHello and welcome to live coverage of stage eight of the Giro d’Italia!
More climbing today, with 3,800m of elevation gain, but the terrain is much more favourable to an enterprising breakaway getting up the road and staying away without the GC contenders spoiling the party.
In theory, at least - let’s find out...
