Tirreno-Adriatico 2018: Stage 4

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Chris Froome goes 'full gas' on Tirreno-Adriatico hilltop finish

Good morning. It's Queen stage day in Tirreno-Adriatico and it's a big day out there with 219km from Foligno to Sarnano–Sassotetto.

The riders have four categorised climbs to face today including the 13.2km rise to the finish at Sassotetto.

The riders rolled out of Foligno a short while ago and we are expecting the flag to drop for racing any time now. 

Don't forget it's also queen stage day at Paris-Nice today. We will have live coverage of that very soon. 

Primoz Roglic was in flying form yesterday and jumped away on the final climb to take the stage win ahead of Adam Yates. Tiesj Benoot showed that he's still in strong form for the Classics by finishing in third place just six seconds back. Read up on what went down yesterday and watch highlights of the stage, here.

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 6:17:23
2 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:03
3 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:06
4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:07
5 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:10
6 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team
7 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
8 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
10 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors

Garaint Thomas finish fourth in yesterday's stage and moved into the race lead with Greg Van Avermaet sitting on the same time as him. Chris Froome is not too far behind and should jump up today with Van Avermaet unlikely to hold on during that final test to the line. 

1 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 10:52:22
2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
3 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:03
4 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:08
5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:00:09
6 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors
7 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:19
8 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:30
9 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:33
10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:39

Plenty of action right from the flag and after a few kilometres we already have a break out front. Four riders have managed to pull clear of the peloton and they are: Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini), Jacopo Mosca (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia), Guy Sagiv (Israel Cycling Academy) and Igor Boev (Gazprom-Rusvelo).

Three of the riders in the break have already been on the attack during this year's Tirreno-Adriatico. Sagiv, Mosca and Bagioli were all in the break together on stage 2. Sagiv was replaced by teammate Dennis van Winden during yesterday's stage but Mosca and Bagioli were out there again. Perhaps they're looking for a full set. We'll have to see over the coming days. 

Correction: It is not Guy Sagiv but Krists Neilands up front for Israel Cycling Academy, while the Gazprom-Rusvelo rider is Alexander Vlasov. Mads Pedersen has now joined the riders up front along with Antoine Duchesne. So that is six riders up the road and they have 3:39 on the peloton. 

The breakaway

@Cyclingnewsfeed Sat, 10th Mar 2018 10:00:18

The gap to the three escapees is gradually nudging out and the six currently have 3:45 on the peloton behind. 

Greg Van Avermaet is currently sitting second in the overall standings at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Belgian spoke to Cyclingnews yesterday, saying that he's going to give his BMC team until well after the Tour de France to secure backing for the 2019 season. Read the full story here.

It's a cool day out there in Italy, with the temperatures around nine degrees and plenty of clouds in the sky. The riders will be thankful they're not racing in France though with temperatures as low as -2. We're expecting it to get a little warmer as the day progresses but it will drop again at the summit finish. 

Here is the moment the break was formed earlier today.

179km remaining from 219km

With a long way to go on today's stage, the gap to the leaders has gone out to 4:38.

Alexander Vlasov is the best placed of the six escapees in the overall classification. The Gazprom-Rusvelo rider is 3:43 behind Geraint Thomas, which means that the peloton is unlikely to give them much room out front. 

Team Sky have three riders in the top 10 overall after yesterday's stage. Chris Froome, who is in third, says it will give the team plenty of cards to play today. Read what he had to say after that tough finish in Trevi, here.

I am going to leave you in the capable hands of Stephen Farrand. Don't worry, you'll be able to find me here for live updates of Paris-Nice stage 7.

Here in Sarnano, this is the view of the finish banner. The stage finishes where the local ski slopes begin.

The mood in the peloton at the start in Foligno was relaxed but cautious about the stage. 

The riders were in the saddle for close to 250km on Friday. Today they face a 6km neutralised section and the 219km stage. 

There is hardly a flat section of road, with close to 4500m of climbing in the hills and on the final claim up to the finish. 

That is a long, hard day out, which is expected to shake up the overall classification. 

You can see the shark's tooth stage profile above. This is the profile of the 14.2km climb to the finish. 

159km remaining from 219km

The break of six riders is pushing on and extending their lead as the peloton rides at  more steady pace.

After 60km of racing the gap is up to 6:00.

After following the valley road from Foligno the riders now head into the hills of the Macerata province. 

From now until the finish there is rarely a metre of flat road. The stage is more like a roller coaster of climbs and descents.

This shot of the peloton shows the hills and mountains that form the backdrop to the stage.

The hills dip and roll, with the snow-covered mountains always in view and reminding the riders what they face in the finale.

The peloton and Team Sky have clearly calculated that they can let the break open a significant lead. 

Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Fantini) leads the climber's competition and will ant to pick up points at the three categorised climbs between km 137 and 170. 

The peloton will be happy to sweep them up before the 14.2km climb to the finish. 

Were hearing that Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) has crashed but he is quickly up and back on his bike.   

The peloton has reduced the gap on the break after the first climb, bring it down to 5:00. 

Italian journalist Manuel Codignoni has posted this photo of the snow-covered mountains as he headed to the finish.
‏

It shows just how hard and how spectacular the stage will be today.

Dumoulin has been forced to abandon the race after is crash.

That's a blow for the 2017 Giro d'Italia winner. 

He had lost time to Team Sky in the team time trial but could have been a threat due to his excellent time trial skills. 

We'll try to find out more about Dumoulin's crash and any injuries.

It's a tough moment for Team Sunweb. Simon Geschke crashed yesterday and fractured his collarbone.  

The German team is down to just three riders at Paris-Nice.

Dumoulin had started Tirreno-Adriatico sick but had hoping to get better in the early stages of the race. 

Sunweb finished fifth, 25 seconds slower than BMC and 15 seconds slower than Team Sky.

Dumoulin finished 21st and lost 24 seconds on Friday's steep climb up to Trevi. That left him disappointed and he was ninth overall, 33 second down on race leader Geraint Thomas. 

It seems that Dumoulin crashed alone.

The actual dynamic of the crash is uncertain but click here for our separate story on the Dutchman's crash.  

The riders have covered a third of today's 219km stage but the hardest is still to come.  

The break still leads the peloton by 5:00, with Team Sky lined out on the front of the peloton.

Teams have just seven riders after the reduction in sizes. However Team Sky showed their strength in depth during yesterday's finale when they all remained up front after the first steep climb up to Trevi and then lined out the peloton.

Team Sky will protect race leader Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, with Michal Kwiatkowski and Gianni Moscon likely to be saved for the final climb.

That means Jonathan Castroviejo, Salvatore Puccio and Vasil Kiryienka will be doing the hard work now in chase of he break. 

In further woes for Sunweb, there are reports that Mike Teunissen has also abandoned. That leaves Sunweb with just four riders at Tirreno-Adriatico. 

Their best hope for the GC is now Wilco Kelderman, while Nikias Arndt could be good in Monday's expected sprint finish. 

134km remaining from 219km

The riders are approaching the feed zone for the stage. But with such a hard stage, some teams have opted to feed early and then a second time later in the stage. 

It is cold out on the road and so they will need extra food and energy.  

As the kilometres tick down I'll hand back live to Sadhbh O'Shea 

Phew, all this jet-setting is tiring. Back from Paris-Nice to take you through to the finish of stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico. You can follow stage 7 of Paris-Nice with Susan Westemeyer, here.

The leaders have 5:20 on the bunch at the moment during this unrelenting undulating stage. The peloton has passed through the feed zone.

It is at this point in the day that the stage will really begin to bite. We have an intermediate sprint coming up in fewer than 10 kilometres and it will be followed by three climbs in quick succession, another intermediate sprint and then the main show with the climb to Sassotetto. 

Dutch reporter Raymond Kerckhoff's is reporting that Dumoulin is with the team doctor complained of rib and chest pains following his crash. Let's hope it's not too serious. 

@Cyclingnewsfeed Sat, 10th Mar 2018 12:20:01

With the climbs coming up, a quick reminder of how things stand in that competition. Bagioli and Mosca will both be looking to mop up as many points as they can over the coming kilometres. 

1 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini 20 pts
2 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 10
3 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini 8
4 Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 5
5 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 3
6 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 2
7 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy 2
8 Alexander Foliforov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 2
9 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 1
10 Stepan Kuriyanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 1

However, Mosca might let Bagioli have the mountains points as he's just mopped up the maximum points at the intermediate sprint and thus extended his lead in the points classification. 

Romain Bardet is out of the top 10 at the moment, mostly down to a very disappointing team time trial on the opening day of Tirreno-Adriatico. However, he climbed the standings after yesterday's stage and says that he is enjoying himself at the Italian race. Read what he had to say on his race so far, here.

After Tom Dumoulin abandoned earlier on, after crashing out on a corner, Daniel Moreno is also forced to quit. It looks like the Spaniard has injured his wrist after he too crashed. 

93km remaining from 219km

Jonathan Castroviejo of Team Sky is on the front of the peloton with the whole team sitting in his wheel. He looks fairly relaxed right now and the breakaway has been given 6:37 of an advantage. 

Bora-Hansgrohe are sitting just behind Team Sky in the peloton. They're looking after Davide Formolo, who is just 30 seconds down on the overall standings. Rafal Majka had been a team leader for them at this race but the Polish rider lost 13 minutes after being caught in a crash with 20km to go. 

@quickstepteam Sat, 10th Mar 2018 12:52:32

86km remaining from 219km

The breakaway enter the first classified climb of the day with the pace behind slowly ramping up.

The gap to our leaders is holding at just over six minutes. They look relaxed as they chat and have a joke together. No jokes from Bagioli, who is focusing on the mountains points.

Lots of movement in the peloton as teams try to get a position on this climb. Nobody wants to be out of position if something goes down.

Bagioli and Mosca go toe to toe for the KOM points. Mosca moves over though and lets Bagioli takes all the points.

The gap is coming down but not at any great speed. The leaders have 5:42 at the moment.

An update from Team Sunweb on the condition of Tom Dumoulin. 

"An update from our team physician after @tom_dumoulin's #TirrenoAdriatico crash. "Tom has sustained multiple bruises and abrasions to his chest, hand, arm and leg. With no fractures, hospital treatment is not needed."

That is some good news for Dumoulin, if you can really call it that. He should be able to recover quickly enough from those injuries and be back to racing soon. Here are some words from the man himself:

"I'm really disappointed to be out of the race after the crash today. I need to accept it, at least there are no fractures. I hope after some days of rest to resume training again and shift my focus to my next goals."

Hearing reports that Daniel Moreno broke his collarbone as a result of his earlier crash. No confirmation from the team yet, but we'll endeavour to get that.

69km remaining from 219km

The riders are approaching the top of the second climb of the day and the leaders are looking a bit more laboured. The gap has dropped to 5:05 with Team Sky continuing to lead the chase.

Mosca doing a lot of work on the front of this break group. He helped his compatriot Bagioli at the last KOM, will he do it again?

Bagioli attacks for the KOM, Mosca follows him but he can't do anything to catch him. Bagioli extends his lead in the mountains classification. 

65km remaining from 219km

Team Sky are spread across the road as Katusha and Quick-Step send riders to the front of the bunch. It's very calm and civilised in the peloton at the moment with 65 kilometres still to go. 

There is some blue sky out there for the riders

The next climb of the day is the Penna San Giovanni, a short but steep ramp that could put a few in trouble. 

The gap has hardly budged for the last 10 kilometres and lots of riders, including Chris Froome and Mikel Landa, have taken the opportunity for a comfort break. It shows the calm in the peloton at the moment. They feel very much in control of the situation.

Swooping down a short descent, the six leaders have given themselves a little bit more of a cushion. They've got 5:20 on the bunch behind, which is still led by Team Sky. At the moment, Vlasov holds the virtual lead. If the race were to finish now, he'd have 1:38 on Thomas. 

A mechanical problem for Victor Campenaerts and he has to drop back to the team car for help. Not a time you want to have a mechanical.

Team Sky has upped the pace behind and taken 30 seconds out of the lead of the six up front this is a game of cat and mouse at the moment. 

If you missed the news earlier on, Tom Dumoulin is no longer at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Dutchman crashed on a corner and had to drop out. Fortunately, he hasn't broken anything. Read up on his condition here.

The leaders have been working very well together and, as they climb once again, things are holding steady between themselves and the peloton. Bagioli is going to struggle to take the points on the final climb but he is moving to the front readying himself to claim the next set of points available. 

Stage 7 of Paris-Nice has just finished. To find out who won, head here.

Peter Sagan looked like on the climb. He drops back to the car and looks to collect a bidon. He's back in the peloton now. 

That's another haul of points for Bagioli who attacks at the top of the KOM before dropping back to his breakaway companions. Their lead is being trimmed down quite quickly and now sits at less than four minutes. 

Tom Dumoulin and his bike have made it to the finish line. His bike took a bit of a battering in the crash.

Jonathan Castroviejo has been doing a mighty job today. The Spaniard has been earning his crust at the front of the peloton by setting the pace for most of the last couple of hours. 

38km remaining from 219km

A crash for Matthias Frank on the climb. It looks like a touch of wheels but thankfully Frank seems to be ok.

Before the final climb comes, the riders must contest another intermediate sprint. The gap to the leaders is still coming down, but they should easily make it to this point, which will please Jacopo Mosca. 

This is what the final climb of the day looks for the riders. It's not the steepest climb out there but it is tough and will further dissect the general classification. with so many riders in the top 10, it will be up to other teams to try and break Team Sky.

The peloton is toying with the leaders at the moment. They keep bringing them in just a little before letting the advantage go out again. After taking the lead down to well under three minutes, the six leads have 4:31 on the bunch. 

Vincenzo Nibali rides through the cars and back into the peloton. Probably just a quick comfort break or a quick conversation with the car for the Italian. He's easily back up the bunch at this pace. 

This is what the front of the bunch has looked like for most of the day today. 

UAE Team Emirates make their way towards the front of the peloton. Their best placed rider, and team leader, Fabio Aru is sitting in 19th place overall at the moment at 59 seconds behind Geraint Thomas. 

20km remaining from 219km

Mitchelton-Scott look like they're planning something. They've put the entire team at the front, including Caleb Ewan, and pick up the pace setting from Team Sky. Mitchelton-Scott were very active yesterday with Adam Yates repeatedly attacking in the finale. 

That turn from Mitchelton-Scott has done some serious damage with the leaders' advantage going down to just 2:35 with 19km to go. 

Astana are now helping the chase too and it looks like things have finally lit up in the bunch. The peloton has been playing a long game today but they now need to make inroads into the escapees. 

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and the escapees have responded to this pace from the peloton. Duchesne has a little attack to try and turn up the wick but he is brought back into the group. Mosca is feeling the pain of his efforts and had to chase back on after being dropped on a short descent. 

13km remaining from 219km

The intermediate sprint is coming up and we can expect Mosca to drop back if and when he collects the points. 

Bagioli is now pacing Mosca towards the intermediate sprint. They're on different teams but they've been helping each other out throughout the day. They've got to know each other after being in the break together for the last three days. 

Mosca crosses the line to take the sprint points. He didn't even notice that he's done it because the sign is so inconspicuous and it takes the camera man to tell him. He smiles briefly and then indicates that he's completely cooked. 

As predicted, Mosca is out the back door of the breakaway. He's done his job for the day. Meanwhile, Sagan is out the back of the peloton. He's saving himself for another day. 

Neilands has attacked from the breakaway and it has exploded. He is now alone with just 10km to go. 

Neilands is holding the peloton at just under a minute for now as his former companions are brought back. Astana is chomping up the tarmac.

8km remaining from 219km

Kiryienka is moving up the side of the Astana train for Team Sky. This is going to be a big face off between a few teams. 

A crash for Roglic on the climb. It's damaged his bike and he's got to wait for a new one. That's his chances of another stage win done and dusted. He's offered a neutral service bike but he refuses it as his team rocks up. 

A replay shows that he touches the wheel of a rider in front and it sends him catapulting from his bike. 

Vlasov catches up with Nielands, who has nothing more and drops back to the peloton. It's not long before Vlasov is caught and we're gruppo compatto for the first time since the start. 

Kangert churning out a high cadence on the front of the peloton. He's got Lopez and Lutsenko on his wheel. This pair has been very strong this season. 

All of the major GC riders still in that front group. Mikel Landa is moving up the side of the group. He's kept very quiet throughout the stage. He's got teammate Jaime Roson in the middle of this bunch in the white jersey too. 

Lutsenko has been dropped from this group so it's just Lopez and Kangert up there as Lopez attacks!

5km remaining from 219km

With Lopez's attack, Kangert drops off and Team Sky pick up the chase. Lopez is still in the sights of the bunch right now. He's not making that much ground. 

Aru attacks and Majka go with him. Lopez will be happy to have some company. 

Lopez is now gaining some traction as more attacks come from the peloton. Ben Hermans is the next to go but Team Sky still refuse to react. They continue to set their tempo. 

4km remaining from 219km

Majka drops Aru and he bridges the gap to Lopez. 

Aru is still digging in and he's almost with Majka and Lopez. Hermans is almost there too. 

Aru and Hermans now make the juncture and we've got four riders in this front group. Team Sky make the chase still with the other teams happy to let them burn their matches.

3km remaining from 219km

Fabio Aru is the best placed rider overall at 53 seconds with Lopez at 1:13. They've got 24 seconds for now.

Majka, who crashed yesterday, attacks again and distances his companions. Lopez is trying to chase him down. 

2km remaining from 219km

The gap is holding to the Thomas group at the moment. Team Sky is not panicking yet, because these riders are less of a threat than those in the group. However, they don't want to afford them too much space and let them back into this race. 

Aru has dragged Hermans back up to Lopez and the trio are about to bring back Majka too. Meanwhile Landa attacks the peloton!

Again, Team Sky doesn't respond to the attack. They just continue their pace and Landa immediately opens up a gap. 

2km remaining from 219km

Landa catches Lopez, who looks to be in trouble. 

Majka has pushed again up front and opened up the gap a little more.

Back in the bunch, Froome is in trouble. He's distanced and having to fight back onto the group of favourites. 

Landa is with Aru and Hermans, who looks like he's struggling, and they catch Majka finally. 

The gap is opening up for Froome, who can no longer keep with the pace. 

Up ahead, Froome's ex-teammate Landa has pushed on and taken Majka with him. Aru and Hermand have to dig in to fight back on but it's a quartet again. They've got 24 seconds on Thomas at the moment. 

As it stands, Thomas will keep the race lead. Team Sky is managing this well. 

The climb has turned into a small descent with just a kilometre remaining. 

Bardet attacks the Thomas group. 

A problem for Thomas

He's standing in the road with now bike. It looks like it was a mechanical problem. 

Thomas could now lose the jersey after all that work. 

Froome has caught up with Thomas and is trying to pace him back

Up front, George Bennett is almost with this leading quartet

1km remaining from 219km

Aru sees Bennett and attacks

Now Bennett attacks but Majka and Landa are in his wheel

Aru has popped

Landa goes for it and takes the victory

Majka crosses the line in second with Bennett in third

We wait for Thomas now, who is without Froome now

Thomas crosses the line 41 seconds back and I think Landa is the new leader

Apologies, it could be Caruso in the blue jersey. He was only eight seconds off Thomas. We wait for confirmation.

Confirirmation that Damiano Caruso is back in the leader's jersey, 11 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman with Mikel Landa now up to third place. 

This is how the stage finished

1 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 06:22:13
2 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:00
3 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:00:00
4 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:06
5 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy 00:00:06
6 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 00:00:06
7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:00:06
8 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 00:00:06
9 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 00:00:06
10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 00:00:06

This is what that stage did to the overall standings

Genral Classification after stage 4
1 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 17:14:49
2 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 00:00:11
3 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 00:00:20
4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 00:00:26
5 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 00:00:31
6 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:00:33
7 Davide Formola (Ita) Bora - hansgrohe 00:00:34
8 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 00:00:36
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 00:00:41
10 Jaimie Roson (Spa) Movistar Team 00:00:44

Here is what Landa had to say after the stage:

“I saw Sky had number and I decided to wait a little bit because we were a little far from the finish line when Lopez attacked. I waited a little bit and kept the riders working and wait for the final attack,” said Landa.

“I’m in a new team. I’m in good shape and when you start like this in a new team I think that it gives you more confidence.”

Tiesj Benoot steps into the young riders' jersey. What a brilliant race from him so far. He's in by far the best form I've ever seen him and now sits eighth overall after finishing sixth on the stage.

Mikel Landa sprays the champagne after that stage win.

@yallaACADEMY Sat, 10th Mar 2018 16:12:51

Race organisers have checked their maths and decided that they had it wrong the first time. Michal Kwiatkowski moves up into second place just one second behind Damiano Caruso. 

This is what the top 10 looks like after that small change.

1 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 17:14:49
2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 00:00:01
3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 00:00:11
4 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 00:00:20
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 00:00:26
6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 00:00:31
7 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:00:33
8 Davide Formola (Ita) Bora - hansgrohe 00:00:34
9 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 00:00:36
10 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 00:00:41

Chris Froome talks to the press after the stage. He had a difficult day out there. 

You can get a full recap of today's action in our report here, along with results and photos of the stage.

You can also get up to date with today's stage at Paris-Nice, here. It was another corker of a stage in some torrid conditions.

@TeamUAEAbuDhabi Sat, 10th Mar 2018 16:49:02

Thomas told reporters after the stage that his chain came off as he was changing gear on the climb. 

"I was changing into the big ring and the chain just came off and got stuck. That’s so annoying. I felt good and tried to close the gap with about a kilometer to go but I can’t believe it. I was yanking it and trying to get it off and it wouldn’t come out. It’s just one of those things.

"It seemed like an eternity to try and get the chain out and then neutral service tried to help. Then I got a bike and fortunately Froome was there and gave me a good turn but it’s so annoying.

"I’ll have to have a look at the results but that’s really frustrating. It was all going so well and I felt good. I was just waiting. It’s just ridiculous. There’s still a few days of racing."

@GeraintThomas86 Sat, 10th Mar 2018 17:09:48

This is what Chris Froome had to say on the finish line.

"It’s tough racing but that’s exactly what I deserve at this point in the season. Today was tricky and we were doing everything we could to try and keep the jersey on Geraint’s shoulders. He had a mechanical problem but we tried to do everything we could.

"The support has been incredible. It’s been a tough old period. It’s not been easy for me but I’m getting through it and I’m staying focused on the goals at hand."

That's it for today. We'll have plenty more action tomorrow from both Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice. See you then.