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As it happened: Van Aert wins as the GC is turned on its head on stage 9 of Giro d'Italia

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The 181km from Gubbio to Siena hosts 29.5km of white gravel sectors, promising a spectacular shake-up for the GC contenders

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Buongiorno and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 9 of the 2025 Giro d'Italia!

We have a supremely exciting stage ahead of us. The Giro d'Italia has returned to the white chalk gravel tracks made famous by Strade Bianche.

Today is without doubt a day for the Giro's puncheurs.

All eyes will be on riders like Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike).

Pidcock's team have downplayed his prospects for the day following his performance in the mountains.

Wout van Aert, on the other hand, seems eager to correct his failed breakaway on stage 8.

From a tech perspective, we'll be interested to see what width of tyres riders go for.

The riders have been signing on and getting ready for the start in Gubbio before heading to Siena and it's white gravel roads. 

The neutralised start of today's stage is at 13:00 local time with the official start coming just six minutes later. 

The day starts with a dream moment for XDS-Astana. They hold the pink jersey with Diego Ulissi in his home region of Tuscany after his heroics yesterday. As well as that, they have 2nd over and the blue mountains jersey with Lorenzo Fortunato. 

The riders have five gravel sectors to cover all coming in the second half of the stage. They are Pieve a Salti, Serravalle, San Martino in Grania (with cat 4 climb), Monteaperti and Colle Pinzuto (with Red Bull KM). Not to mention the cobbled kicker up to Siena. 

One rider will not appear today:

Posted by GreenEdgeCycling on 

Neutral start

It is an entirely pink day for Diego Ulissi today. 

XDS-Astana are in such a good place going into the final day of the first week. 

181km to go

Immediately the attacks come with Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) being the first to launch. 

Four riders get a gap with Groves, his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Quinten Hermans as well as Dries De Bondt (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) and Milan Fretin (Cofidis). 

Behind, Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty) tries a move to bridge but he is heavily marked. 

More moves come behind with Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) trying yet again. He is trying to join Van der Hoorn and Luke Lamperti (Soudal-QuickStep). 

XDS-Astana, Q36.5, Bahrain Victorious and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are blocking the road and are not allowing any more attacks! This looks like we will be getting a six man break with VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane and Polti-VisitMalta missing out on the move. 

The gap is going out rapidly for the leaders and they now have over a minute and a half on the bunch with the two chasers just half a minute back on the leading four. 

170km to go

Now XDS-Astana and Q36.5 now start setting a tempo in the peloton. The break are not going to be given much gap at all as the peloton would like to go for the win today. 

Van der Hoorn and Lamperti are struggling to close on Groves, Hermans, De Bondt and Fretin as the gap has gone out to 53". 

The leaders now almost have three minutes with Van der Hoorn and Lamperti closing in again. It looks like the leaders are slowing to allow the duo in to make it a group of six. 

160km to go

The gap has dropped below two minutes between the break and the peloton. They are keeping these six riders on a very tight leash. 

Today's weather is a mix of sun and cloud with a pleasant temperature of 18°c as the riders role through Umbria and head to Tuscany. 

150km to go

The break are riding hard but the gap continues to drop as it dips under a minute and a half. 

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have joined Q36.5 and XDS-Astana on the front of the peloton as they are now giving the break a bit more time again. 

Bike change

The first intermediate sprint of the day is coming in 4km at Mercatale, immediately followed by the category 3 La Cima climb. 

Intermediate sprint (Mercatale)

130km to go

Dropped by peloton

KoM (La Cima)

Crash

Fretin makes it back into the break again. 

Bike change

The race enters Tuscany with the peloton now just 1'34" behind the breakaway. 

Interestingly, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was right at the back of the peloton and was working hard to hold on. Not sure if there was an issue or if he was just dropping back to talk tactics with his DS.  

100km to go

The sun is out on the riders at the moment but there is a very dark cloud up ahead and a haze of rain. Will the gravel be wet for the riders?

Just 10km to the second intermediate sprint of the day which is taking place in Sinalunga. 

This has been the view on the front of the peloton for the majority of the day with Xabier Mikel Azparren leading the way for Q36.5 and his team leader, Tom Pidcock. 

Intermediate sprint (Sinalunga)

Q36.5 and XDS-Astana are joined on the front of the peloton by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Ineos Grenadiers, Jayco-AlUla and Bahrain Victorious. 

The top two in the GC, the XDS-Astana teammates of Diego Ulissi and Lorenzo Fortunato, riding together the peloton and hoping to take their GC positions into the rest day tomorrow. 

A small group of 12 riders losing touch with the peloton including Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Giovanni Aleotti and 30th overall Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty), which is a surprise. 

80km to go

70km to go

The breakaway ride onto the dry gravel and the dust clouds blow up immediately. Onto the Pieve a Salti, 8km with a max kicker of 11%. 

Behind, Ineos Grenadiers, Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek battle for control with Josh Tarling, Edoardo Affini and Daan Hoole going wheel to wheel. But, Gianni Moscon and Primož Roglič come from nowhere for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe to lead onto the gravel alongside Wout Van Aert (Vima-Lease a Bike). 

The pink jersey of Diego Ulissi is a long way down the peloton. On the front of the peloton is Mads Pdersen and Josh Tarling. 

Puncture

There is a huge amount of dust, The riders can hardly see a metre in front of them. This makes things even harder. 

At the front of the race, Fretin, De Bondt and Groves have been dropped from the break with Van der Hoorn, Lamperti and Hermans leading. 

Big split in the peloton as Michael Storer (Tudor) is struggling to hold on. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) looking very smooth in the front of the peloton with Primož Roglič and Juan Ayuso a bit further back. 

Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) all struggling to stay with the front of the peloton led by Pedersen. 

Out front, Groves has come back and is setting a very hard tempo for Hermans as everyone else have been dropped. It is the Alpecin-Deceuninck duo out front as Milan Fretin is caught by the peloton. 

Storer, Tiberi, Gee, both of the Yates brothers, Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) all get back on to the lad group with the peloton in bits on the road. This is so difficult to see who is where, but no major problems so far. 

Pink jersey dropped

60km to go

Caught by peloton

That is the first gravel sector done. Just 4km of break before the next sector, Serravalle. 

Second overall, Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) is in the Diego Ulissi group as their teammates get together and try to work to limit the losses. 

Mads Pedersen is still working on the front of the peloton with three of his teammates on his wheel including Mathias Vacek and Giulio Ciccone. 

It looks like Picnic-PostNL's 7th place man in GC, Max Poole, is out of the back along with teammate Romain Bardet. 

Onto sector two go Groves and Hermans, the Serravalle. They have 41" on the peloton that are still led by Pedersen. 

Crash!

Pedersen is done and dropped as Tarling now takes it up for Ineos Grenadiers with Bernal in second wheel. 

Max Poole confirmed to be just around 10" off the back of the main GC group alongside Storer now after his crash. 

Tarling and Ben Turner working hard with Bernal and Thymen Arensman lead for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Bahrain Victorious' Pello Bilbao and Antonio Tiberi. 

Tarling is done and dropped from the main GC peloton. 

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)
Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Lucas Hamilton (Ineos Grenadiers)
Dani Martinez (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

Attack!

Groves and Hermans have been caught. Del Toro is going all out at the front of the Giro d'Italia.

Leaders:

Puncture

Roglič was already over a minute down on Bernal's group but he will be losing a sack of time now with 45km to go. It is salvageable with Giulio Pellizzari with him. 

Puncture

Primož Roglič has Pellizzari working hard as well as Derek Gee and one of his Israel-Premier Tech teammates. 

Onto sector three now, San Martino in Grania. The group including Ayuso, Tiberi, Simon and Adam Yates, Carapaz and Ciccone are 46" down on the leaders. 

The big group including Pidcock, Storer, Poole, Bardet and others then the Roglič and Gee group. 

Ayuso's group are 49" behind the Bernal/Del Toro group. The Pidcock/Storer group is 1'12" down with the Roglič/Gee group 1'25" down. 

Pidcock is suddenly in the Roglič/Gee group. Not a good day for those three at all. 

Adam Yates, Simon Yates, Mikkel Honore (EF Education-EasyPost), Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) and others have been dropped from the Ayuso group. 

Groves and Hermans have been dropped by the leaders after a whole day in the breakaway. 

Leaders:

Gee, Roglič and Pidcock are working well together as they fly passed Einer Rubio (Movistar). 

Thymen Arensman has had a problem as he is a long way down after being at the front of the race. He has had a mechanical issue missed by the cameras. 

This is the dream day for Egan Bernal and Ineos Grenadiers. 

Pidcock uses his amazing bike handling to get back onto the next group, which includes Tiberi, Ayuso, the Yates brothers and the other big GC names. Roglič and Gee also appear to be getting back on too. Waiting to confirm thy are in that particular group. 

Roglič, Pidcock and Gee are not in the Ayuso group. They have joined the Pedersen group. They are 1'12" off the front and about 20" from the Ayuso group. 

KoM (San Martino in Grania)

Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) have attacked the Pidcock/Roglič group to attempt to bridge to the Ayuso group and are doing very well. 

30km to go

Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) has made the bridge to the leaders of the race. What a ride by the Czech rider. Harper is somewhere in no-mans-land. 

20km to go

Attack!

The Monteaperti was short and sweet but has seen the advantage grow to 1'16" to the next group as Vacek makes it back to the leaders. 

Attack

Planckaert has been caught by the Ayuso group with Konrad working for Ciccone despite having Vacek up the road. 

Behind the Ayuso group, Gee and Roglič are pushing hard to try and pull the gap down but it isn't closing fast enough for them. They're 40" behind Ayuso and 1'40" to the lead group. 

Onto the final gravel sector of the Colle Pinzuto, 2.4km with a max kick of 15% and the Red Bull KM. 

Attack!

Vacek and Bernal are together and working together but they are 20" behind Del Toro and Van Aert already with 15km to go. 

Red Bull KM (Colle Pinzuto)

The 21-year-old Mexican, Isaac Del Toro, is riding his way into the pink jersey today and he will have a comfortable advantage on the rest. He started the day +26" down on Diego Ulissi who is now over four minutes behind. 

Egan Bernal has dropped Mathias Vacek. He looked like he had been told to wait for Ciccone but now he has ridden his way back to Bernal. 

10km to go

Van Aert has a word with Del Toro and it looks like he will not be coming through anymore. Van Aert looks like he is really hurting. 

Adam Yates is now on the front of the Ayuso group with Del Toro out front. They could catch Bernal but also they have a minute on the Roglič group, which is also important. 

Vacek has dropped off the wheel of Bernal again. Looks like he is waiting for the Ayuso group to work for Ciccone. 

Bernal is being caught up to by the Ayuso group rapidly. The Colombian champion could even lose time to his rivals after such a good ride. 

5km to go

These two have been the strongest riders on the day with UAE Team Emirates-XRG in a wonderful position with Del Toro taking pink then Ayuso and Yates sitting pretty in the GC as well going into the rest day. 

Into the final 2km for Del Toro and Van Aert. 

Flamme Rouge

Onto the final climb up to the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 

Attack!

500 metres to go and Van Aert comes round Del Toro! 

Wout Van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike wins stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia 2025!

Carapaz, Ciccone, Simon Yates and Tiberi have dropped Ayuso behind! 

Ciccone takes the 4" bonus in third on the day. Carapaz, Tiberi and Simon Yates all take time on Ayuso but they all lose time to Del Toro who took second as well as the pink jersey. 

Primož Roglič, Tom Pidcock, Derek Gee and Michael Storer all lose over two minutes to Isaac Del Toro going into the rest day. 

Stage 9 top 10

General Classification

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