As it happened: Another hectic sprint on Giro d'Italia stage 4

Buongiorno and welcome to our live coverage of stage 4 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia!

We're just under an hour away from the start of today's stage, which should bring another sprint finish.

Yesterday's third stage also brought a sprint finish, won by Tim Merlier, his second career Giro stage victory.

Giro d'Italia: Tim Merlier claims first sprint stage as Pogačar's late attack fails

Merlier celebrated with a tribute to Wouter Weylandt, the Belgian QuickStep sprinter who died in a crash on stage 3 of the 2011 Giro.

Tim Merlier dedicates second Giro d'Italia stage win to late Wouter Weylandt

Belgian outpowers Jonathan Milan after tough battle with Tadej Pogačar's late break

Here's a look back at the results of stage 3 as well as the main classification standings.

And here's our breakdown of the updated GC standings heading into today's stage.

Under half an hour to go until the stage 4 start!

GC contenders Tadej Pogačar and Geraint Thomas were both on the attack late on in yesterday's stage, even if the pair were caught inside the final kilometre.

Read their perspectives on the late move below...

- 'Just stretching the legs' – Relentless Tadej Pogačar tries to upset sprinters at Giro d'Italia

- Geraint Thomas on Pogačar's late Giro d'Italia attack - 'He was kicking my head in'

Five minutes until the stage kicks off...

Off we go! Into the neutral zone to start the day.

600 metres to go until the flag drops!

190km to go

The stage gets underway and an early attack from Polti-Kometa.

Francisco Muñoz is the man on the move for the Italian team.

A couple more riders head out to chase him.

187km to go

Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Wanty) and Stefan De Bod (EF Education-EasyPost) join Muñoz.

And now Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is on the move and gets across to make it four.

Soudal-QuickStep working at the head of the peloton 12 seconds back.

Now up to 45 seconds for the break.

179km to go

Now a minute for the breakaway quartet.

This is the break of the day.

169km to go

The peloton is keeping them within two minutes so far.

Lidl-Trek also on the front of the peloton along with Soudal-QuickStep.

1:30 now to the lead quartet.

Ganna now seems to be dropping back from the breakaway.

It's raining and the small move isn't likely to make the finish, plus the peloton aren't letting them get very far up the road.

162km to go

Ganna now back with the peloton.

Now the peloton has slowed up and the gap is up to 2:30.

The road is steadily rising during this first half of the stage towards the high point of the third-category climb, the Colle del Melogno.

A look at the official profile of today's stage.

150km to go

De Bod, Muñoz and Calmejane now 3:30 up the road.

Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) is out of the Giro d'Italia.

He joins Bram Welten (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) in heading home, with the Dutchman a DNS today.

Robert Gesink (Visma-Lease A Bike), Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost) and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla) had already left the race in recent days.

138km to go

4:15 for the breakaway now.

No changes in the situation currently as the riders head towards the day's first intermediate sprint at Calizzano.

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5:30 for the breakaway! The gap has only gone up since Ganna departed the move.

After a quick start at around 45kph, the average speed has dropped to 38kph in the past half hour.

114km to go

Three men out front, now on dry roads after the early rain.

The trio are almost at the Calizzano intermediate sprint now.

Muñoz leads the way through and now the sprinters jump from the peloton to battle over the remaining points on offer.

Biniam Girmay, Tim Merlier, Kaden Groves, Martin Marcellusi, and Fernando Gaviria all fighting over fourth place across the line.

Groves led the way for fourth place and five points. Merlier next on four, then Girmay, Marcellusi, and Gaviria.

Merlier is now top of the points classification on 67 points to Milan's 63.

104km to go

2km to go to the top of the day's only classified climb.

4:15 between break and peloton after that sprint.

Visma-Lease A Bike and Lidl-Trek pushing the pace.

Up front it's Calmejane leading the way over the top of the climb.

Fabio Jakobsen is suffering off the back of the peloton on this third-category climb. Teammate Julius van den Berg is back with him.

Fernando Gaviria is also dropping.

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That 9 points for Calmejane boosts him up to second place in the mountain classification.

He's on 32 points now, 19 down on Tadej Pogačar, though he'll wear the blue jersey tomorrow.

The peloton at 3:30 after that upping of the pace. Jakobsen at 4:45 down after he was dropped on the way up.

Race leader Tadej Pogačar among his teammates in the peloton today.

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Racing downhill for some time now.

There is a small climb on the way down, however, which the break is hitting now.

86km to go

Jakobsen still a minute behind the peloton.

A crash in the peloton for Ethan Vernon and Jhonatan Narváez on the small climb but both are back up on their feet quickly.

Lewis Askey now at the rear of the peloton pushing a massive gear. He sticks his hand up for a bike change as he's clearly stuck in the wrong gear on the way up this climb.

Up at the front of the peloton UAE, Visma and Lidl are doing the work.

De Bod, Calmejane, and Muñoz remain 3:30 up the road.

Narváez and Jakobsen the major casualties off the back. They're still chasing back on.

76km to go

Back on wet roads now as the riders head downhill once more.

And now Narváez makes it back to the peloton. Askey is also back in.

Visma and Lidl continue to lead the peloton on behalf of sprinters Olav Kooij and Jonathan Milan.

1km to go to the Intergiro sprint for the three men out front now.

Muñoz goes off the front of the move to take the maximum points there. Calmejane and De Bod follow before getting back up to the Spaniard.

Now Jakobsen gets back to the peloton after a long chase.

Three minutes later and the sprinters come out to play again. Kooij, Girmay, Groves up there again.

It looks like Kooij beat Groves across the line there.

10km now until the riders hit the final intermediate sprint of the day.

65km to go

Gaviria, O'Connor and Girmay have been caught up in a crash.

The trio among several riders going down on a wet right-hand bend.

Girmay has taken the longest to get going again. He's hurt his right hip and is slowly riding off.

Up front, Calmejane has sat up from the break, leaving Muñoz and De Bod in the move.

Girmay crashes again!

He slides out on a left-hander this time and falls on his left-hand side.

Girmay has a concussion check and he's still being checked out at the side of the road.

Biniam Girmay looks to be out of the Giro d'Italia.

57km to go

2:25 between break and peloton now.

Jens Voigt of Eurosport reporting that Girmay is heading out of the race in an ambulance.

Meanwhile the peloton has split at the front! There was a high pace heading into the final intermediate sprint as Cian Uijtdebroeks snagged a single bonus second in thid place.

Tadej Pogačar is also in the reduced front group!

No full information on who has made the cut and who has missed it just yet.

Lidl-Trek and Visma-Lease A Bike lead the front group, so the likes of Milan and Kooij are in there.

The race has hit the Ligurian coast now and it's pretty much all flat to the finish. The Capo Mele, which features on the Milan-San Remo route, comes just 3km from the line.

Around 30 seconds between the split peloton.

Just over two minutes between the remaining two breakaway men and the first part of the peloton.

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The peloton is back together now. Crisis averted for those who missed the split.

35km to go

1:53 to the breakaway.

Visma and Lidl on the front as they have been for a large portion of the day.

The gap is coming down steadily but Muñoz and De Bod continue to battle on.

1:20 is the gap now.

It's sunny and dry now after the earlier rain.

23km to go

Visma-Lease A Bike, Lidl-Trek and Soudal-QuickStep all at the head of the peloton at the moment with Alpecin-Deceuninck just behind.

Another 10 seconds off the breakaway's lead and it's down to 1:10 now.

20km left to run now.

Bike change for Magnus Sheffield in the peloton.

And now the pace is only going up. 58 seconds to the two leaders.

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It's still largely the same mix of teams working to bring back Muñoz and De Bod.

15km to go

30 seconds now.

We're in Milan-San Remo territory here.

The break won't make it to the finish but we've still yet to see who will make one last bid to stay away and take the combativity prize in the process.

Juan Molano (UAE Team Emirates) is at the rear of the peloton with a mechanical problem. He was caught up in the first Girmay crash earlier, too.

Lidl-Trek with three up front ahead of Milan here.

Kooij, Groves, Ewan, Van Poppel, Merlier all positioned up at the front along with Milan.

11km to go

26 seconds for the two breakaway men.

The two breakaway survivors are coming to the end of their day's work.

10km to go and 5km to the bottom of the Capo Mele.

8km to go

The GC contenders also trying to stick up at the front to stay safe.

Thomas and Pogačar are right up there.

19 seconds to the breakaway.

6km

Ineos now leading the peloton into the Capo Mele.

It's almost over for the break – eight seconds.

5km to go

Tudor, Bahrain, Visma, Ineos spread across the road as the peloton finally catches the two breakaway men.

De Bod makes one last push but it's over for the break.

4km to go

Ganna attacks!

He was in the breakaway earlier on before dropping back.

Tudor are leading the chase.

Ganna has a handful of seconds on the chasing peloton.

Danny van Poppel is attempting to counter!

Andrea Pasqualon is also on the move!

3km to go

Six seconds for Ganna.

Van Poppel and Pasqualon caught.

Filippo Fiorelli attacks now.

The peloton is strung out behind Ganna. Lidl-Trek lead it.

Ganna is over the top and heading down into Andora.

2km to go

Fiorelli a few seconds back, the peloton another few further back.

Now Fiorelli is caught.

Alpecin-Deceuninck join Lidl-Trek in the chase.

1km to go

Ganna still has five seconds.

Dani Martínez stops with a mechanical as Ganna is caught!

Consonni sets up the final sprint.

Laporte comes through now.

Milan hits the front.

Merlier is coming up alongside him.

But the Belgian can't get up alongside Milan.

Finish

Jonathan Milan wins stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia!

Kaden Groves came through for second place at the death. Phil Bauhaus and Olav Kooij were third and fourth after Tim Merlier faded to fifth in the final metres.

Groves came in with a fast finish but nobody came close to Milan there.

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Filippo Ganna caught at the finish after powerful late-race solo attack

2023 points classification winner Milan will be back in charge of the maglia ciclamino tonight. He's on 113 points to Tim Merlier's 81 now.

That was Milan's fourth win of the season and ninth of his career.

Milan celebrates with his teammates, including Juan Pedro López on the left, after his victory.

Here's what Milan had to say after his win today...

"I have so many emotions now. I said from the beginning we came here with one goal for everyone. So today the guys did an amazing job. It is such an amazing sensation to win again here in the Giro d'Italia.

"I really have to say thanks always to my teammates – they first believe in this day and then also it's pretty special because my parents they were here, so I'm really happy about it. It's just an amazing sensation.

"We saw Filippo Ganna going full gas in the last climb, we catch him with 900 metres to go. Yeah, he also helped us in a way, let's say. And then Simone Consonni did just a fantastic lead-out. And yeah, I just had to play my cards then."

Groves finished in second place, his best result so far in this year's Giro. Here's what he said after that finish...

"It was a really hectic sprint today. It was such a high pace and all the teams just racing for position – it makes it quite scary at times and it just increases the speed.

"These types of stages are attractive to guys that can do a late attack. We saw that yesterday also with Pogačar. He also could have done a similar thing today but I think the wind was in our favour. In the end you have to be going pretty strong to stay away.

"We're getting there. The team's riding really well for me. And they keep committing and we keep trying and we'll see how we go in the coming days."

Today's stage winner takes to the podium and celebrates the victory plus getting back into the points jersey.

Elsewhere, Tadej Pogačar retains the GC and mountain jerseys while Cian Uijtdebroeks is still in the best young rider jersey.

That's all from us today at stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia. Be sure to check back tomorrow for more live coverage!