Hello, and welcome to our coverage of stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia. It's a second individual time trial today: a mostly flat, 31.2km route from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda on the shore of Lake Garda in northern Italy.
It's a stage that could open up gaps in the GC. And, for time triallists like Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), it's a second chance to claim a stage win.
I'm Emma Magnus, and I'll be guiding you through all the action today.
Our first riders are off!
Alan Riou (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) is the first to go, at 12.40 (UK time). The last rider will be Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) at 15.43.
Here are some of the key riders to watch today (all in UK time):
Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) - 12.59
Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) - 13.30
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) - 14.35
Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 13.37
Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) - 14.10
Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) - 14.35
Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) - 15.16
Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain - Victorious) - 15.31
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) - 15.37
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) - 15.43.
Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) is off!
Let’s take a closer look at the parcours today. There are a series of minor ups and downs but the stage is largely flat, with an elevation gain of roughly 250m. Heading towards the shore of Lake Garda, the road runs slightly downhill. It's 23 degrees and sunny at the start.
Today's ITT is much flatter than that of stage 7, which began with a 32km flat section before climbing up the Casaglia, with gradients of up to 16%.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is the bookmakers' favourite today. He's currently warming up for his start at 12.35.
That said, he was beaten in stage 7 by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), and has never beaten the Slovenian in a Grand Tour ITT.
"I want to have sensations like last time," said Pogačar before the race. "I don't want to think about the result, but let's see how close I can get to Ganna, or if it's possible to beat him. First of all, I want to feel good."
Josef Černý (Soudal Quick-Step) is the man currently in the hotseat, having finished in 36 minutes and 58 seconds, with an average speed of 50.6 kilometres per hour.
Here's the top 10 from stage 7's time trial:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 51-44
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, +17s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, +49s
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +1-00
5. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, +1-05
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +1-21
7. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +1-45
8. Dani Martínez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +1-49
9. Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates, +1-56
10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +2-00
Can Ganna get a victory over Pogačar today? It's worth noting that tomorrow is the Giro's hardest mountain stage, with 5,400m of climbing. It'll be interesting to see how the GC men play it today.
Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) has the new fastest time, at 36.41 (51 km/h).
Stage favourite Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is up now, with a chance to win a stage at the Giro d'italia for the first time in three years.
Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) has set the new fastest time at 36.32 (51.2 km/h). Hoole's short time in the hotseat is over.
Here comes Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates). He finished ninth in stage 7, and he's definitely one to watch today.
It’s TT day at the #Giro ⏱️Last night we caught up with @GannaFilippo ahead of the 31.2km test to preview stage 1️⃣4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/FeELlhLbm7May 18, 2024
Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), the U23 world time trial champion, has the same time as Affini at the first time check.
Ganna is the fastest by 13 seconds at the first time check. He's there in 9.39 (48.5km/h).
Milesi (Movistar) finishes 2 seconds behind Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike), and he's visibly disappointed. Still, a ride for the U23 world ITT champion to be proud of.
Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) is fastest at the second timepoint by 4 seconds. He's there in 26.46 (52 km/h).
Ganna is fastest by 59 seconds at the second time check. He's riding at 51.97 km/h and the commentators are loving his smooth, aero riding style.
🇮🇹 Top Ganna is currently one minute (59 seconds) ahead of @Tobias_S_Foss at the second intermediate point. #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/KO44k97B6iMay 18, 2024
Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) unseats Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike), with the fastest time by 4 seconds. He shouldn't make himself too comfortable though - Ganna is coming.
As the bookmakers predicted, Filippo Ganna is in the hotseat, finishing fastest in 35.02 (53.45 km/h).
He's beaten Foss by 1.26, Affini by 1.30 and Milesi by 1.32.
Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) is on the road. He finished fifth on stage 7 and is the Australian national TT champion.
"Pippo in Italy is a different person than I have seen in other races," says teammate Tobias Foss. "He is such a strong guy. What he did today on this kind of TT - even Pogi will struggle to beat him. Chapeau and really well done to Pippo."
⚡ A stratospheric ride by @GannaFilippo sees him move into the hot seat, with a time of 35'02", or an average speed of 53.4 km/h#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/twRaZIqULrMay 18, 2024
Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) is on the road. He had a spectacular breakaway win on stage 12, which you can read about here.
Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike) is off, followed by Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers).
The podium as it currently stands:
1. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
2. Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers): +1.26
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates): +1.28
Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) has finished and is currently in second place, 1.18 behind Ganna.
Meanwhile, Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) is only 5 seconds behind his teammate at the first time check.
"I didn't want to go out there and have an average ride," says Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla). "I went out there with nothing to lose...I'm pretty happy with that ride."
Plapp also said that the course was faster and less technical than he'd anticipated on his recon. "You think the barriers are tighter than they actually are...It's a really quick course, and I really liked it."
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is warming up. He starts at 15.43.
Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) has crashed. He's back on his bike, but his right leg is bloodied and his shorts are torn.
At the second time check, he was just 39 seconds behind Ganna, putting him into a provisional second place. Let's hope this doesn't cost him too much time.
As the GC men are beginning to start, let's take a look at how the GC currently stands:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 49:24:38
2. Daniel Martinez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +2:40
3. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, +2:56
4. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, +3:39
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) bahrain Victorious, +4:27
6. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +4:57
7. Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan, +5:19
8. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco-AIUla, +5:23
9. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, +5:28
10. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +5:52
Magnus Sheffield has finished in a provisional seventh place. He's 1.35 down on Ganna.
💥 7th time across the line for @MagnusSheffield as he suffers a nasty crash in a right hander #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/6DLGQHQcYYMay 18, 2024
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is off. Today is an opportunity to right the wrongs of stage 7, in which he was openly disappointed about his 10th place finish. He starts today in third place in the GC, needing 16 seconds to get back to second.
Daniel Martínez (BORA-Hansgrohe) is also on his way. He'll be looking to cement his second position on GC.
And now it's time for Tadej Pogačar, dressed in pink (although, we should note, he's back to the two-tone skinsuit).
With all the riders having now started, here's a reminder of how today's results currently stand:
1 Filippo Ganna
2 Luke Plapp +1.18
3 Tobias Foss +1.26
4 Mikkel Bjerg +1.28
5 Edoardo Affini +1.30
6 Lorenzo Milesi +1.32
7 Magnus Sheffield +1.35
8 Daan Hoole +1.39
9 Max Walscheid +1.48
10 Josef Černý +1.56
Ganna says it's "impossible" to be too optimistic. "We will see now. We will cross the fingers, and we will wait."
Geraint Thomas is 11 seconds behind Ganna at the first checkpoint. Danny Martínez is 19 seconds behind Thomas.
🏳️ Everyone has started! 💗 @TamauPogi is 3' behind Dani Martinez, himself 3' behind Geraint Thomas #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/NpSviN1zsLMay 18, 2024
Pogačar is 4 seconds ahead of Ganna at the first time check!
Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) is in. He's provisionally finished second, 1.07 behind Ganna.
Pogačar is tucking down the bottoms of his sleeves in an effort to save watts. "All these little things add up," says commentator Luke Rowe.
Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) is having a great ride. He's 5th at the second checkpoint.
Eurosport commentator Daniel Oss says that the wind has dropped in the last hour, which gives an advantage to the later starters.
As it stands, Geraint Thomas is putting 36 seconds into Danny Martinez. He'll be moving back up to second place in the GC if this continues.
Geraint Thomas is 4th at the second checkpoint at 47 seconds down on Ganna. It's the same time as his teammate Arensman.
Tiberi has finished in provisional 4th place, with a brilliant 36.21 result.
Time for Pogačar's second time check. He's 10 seconds behind Ganna now.
A great result for Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) finishes 1.25 down on Ganna, in provisional fifth place. He loses 6 seconds to Tiberi.
Geraint Thomas has finished in provisional third place. He's 1.14 down on Ganna, and it's looking like he will shift up to second on the GC.
Danny Martínez has finished his TT in provisional 13th place. He's 25 seconds behind Thomas, which will move him to third in GC.
Pogačar is gritting his teeth as he comes to the finish line. He's second, 29 seconds behind Ganna. He's increased his lead in the GC to over three minutes.
Filippo Ganna has won stage 14!
And sharing the joy 😊(congrats @GannaFilippo 👏)#GirodItalia @INEOSGrenadiers pic.twitter.com/HIFIFhP09rMay 18, 2024
Here are today's top 10:
1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers 35'06"
2. Tadej Pogačar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates +29"
3. Thymen Arensman (NED) Ineos Grenadiers +1'07"
4. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers +1'14"
5. Luke Plapp (AUS) Jayco-AlUla +1'18"
6. Antonio Tiberi (ITA) Bahrain Victorious +1'19"
7. Ben O'Connor (AUS) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale +1'25"
8. Tobias Foss (NOR) Ineos Grenadiers +1'26"
9. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE Team Emirates +1'28"
10. Edoardo Affini (ITA) Visma-Lease a Bike +1'30"
For a full recap, you can read the race report here.
