Giro d'Italia 2022 Stage 20

Final mountain stage sees the GC battle head into the Dolomites.

Will this be the break of the day? And the two have been quickly brought back. There's a break of about 15 riders up the road with about 10 seconds. Riders are everywhere as they finish the descent. The peloton is really slowing down and allowing the leaders almost two minutes. The group of 14 might be let go. The gap is almost five minutes with 125km to go. 95 kilometres to go in the stage. On the descent, the leaders are extending their gap to almost 6 minutes again. The maximum gradient is 15 percent. Covi has 10km to go before he starts the final climb. Covi will reach the top in 2km.

Alessandro Covi gains more time, the Italian leads the stage by 1min 48sec.

The Ecuadorian, however, is holding on to that treasured garment by the narrowest thread. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) leads, but has Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) breathing down his neck, while Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) is perfectly positioned to launch an audacious attack at the last, but does he have what it takes to overhaul the deficit he has on the leading pair? After about 32km of racing, Ineos Grenadiers fanned themselves out on the front of the peloton in an attempt to slow the race down a little, letting the breakaway gain some more time. Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates), Domen Novak (Bahrain Victorious), Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and a handful of others bridged over to the leading group, while further back a few splits formed. The rain has stopped and the riders thankfully have dry roads to play with. After almost three weeks of warm weather, today's venture into the almighty Dolomites may see the first proper downpours the peloton has had to deal with. Today it is for Mauri Vansevenant, but the young Belgian will have to do the ride of his life today if he is to win the first grand tour stage of his career. The breakaway's advantage has dropped to below 6min now – advantage peloton who, once they start riding hard, should be able to wipe that out fairly swiftly on these steep climbs at high altitude. Giulio Ciccone is not happy, the Italian wants the rest of the group to contribute to the chase. Starting to wonder if all this heavy lifting being done by Bahrain Victorious is just playing into the hands of Richard Carapaz and Jai Hindley who are both getting free rides here today, thus far at least. With general classification team-mates further back, neither Kämna nor Novak will be expected to help with the chase, while Formolo, in theory, cannot chase his team-mate Covi who leads the stage. Alessandro Covi's lead has grown out to 2min 24sec and the peloton is inching a little closer to Giulio Ciccone 's group.

Jai Hindley dealt a killed blow to Richard Carapaz. The stage win went to Alessandro Covi who attacked the break of the day.

Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious at 8:55 6. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious at 1:51 4. Hugh Carthy (GB) EF Education-EasyPost at 17:56. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at 16:04 9. Lennard Kämna (Ger) BORA-hansgrohe at 3:39. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) BORA-hansgrohe at 11:18 8. Jai Hindley (Aus) BORA-hansgrohe at 2:30 7. Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 3:04 8. Thymen Arensman (Ned) DSM at 1:50 6. Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar at 1:36 5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 0:37 4. Domen Novak (Slov) Bahrain-Victorious at 0:32 3.

Australia's Jai Hindley has taken the pink jersey from Richard Carapaz and will begin the closing time trail with a lead of more than a minute.

“I knew if you had the legs you can make a difference. “I knew this would be the crucial stage of the race, with the brutal finish,” Hindley said. With Covi, of UAE Team Emirates, well clear in front, Carapaz was looking comfortable going into the gruelling final Passo Fedaia climb, as the Ineos Grenadiers domestique Pavel Sivakov led the peloton with four kilometres to go.

Welcome to Eurosport's live text coverage of the 2022 Giro d'Italia, and we're now on to Stage 19.

It's time for the big one - a final showdown in the Dolomites with three massive peaks including the fearsome Passo San Pellegrino, the Cima Coppi for the highest climb in the race, the Passo Pordoi, and the final slog of the mighty Marmolada. The flag has gone down and the first attacks are coming in... 155km to go: It's not the sunny weather everyone wanted for this picture postcard stage in the Dolomites and it's now started to drizzle. 130km to go: A fifteenth rider makes the break in the form of Andrea Vendrame, the Italian from Ag2R-Citroen who misjudged that final bend in the finale yesterday and had to take evasive action through a gap in the barriers. You'll be pleased to know that the rain has now stopped and the sun is back out - so we could be in for a dry finale today... 140km to go: This stage is far from settled despite this move of 12 men with around 20 seconds on the pack. The gap is up to six minutes but it's not a done deal that one of the 15 leaders wins today's stage - especially given what's in store: three monstrous Cat.1 climbs and over 4,000m of climbing. Bradley Wiggins picked up on it from the back of his motorbike and Robbie McEwen is speculating on a potential alliance: the two working together so that Nibali wins the stage and Landa takes the pink jersey. 45km to go: Alessandro Covi crests the summit of the highest climb of this year's Giro and he will win the Cima Coppi prize for his efforts. Formolo will move up to seventh place - but he could feasibly move into third by the end of the day. 56km to go: The breakaway is onto the Passo Pordoi which, rising to 2239m, is the highest point in this race where the Cima Coppi prize will be up for grabs. 7km to go: That's a surprise - Formolo has been distanced along with Pedrero. They follow Leemreize and Kamna, who may or may not have been called back to help teammate Hindley for the finale. 25km to go: The duo have joined forces on this descent and will soon be caught by the Bahrain-led pink jersey group.

It was all change in the general classification after a dramatic conclusion to the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia, with Jai Hindley claiming the ...

It was all change in the general classification after a dramatic conclusion to the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia, with Jai Hindley claiming the pink jersey from Richard Carapaz after dropping the race leader during a brutal climb. He was neck-and-neck with Australian Hindley until approximately two kilometres remaining, but Hindley - assisted by Bora-Hansgrohe team-mate Lennard Kämna of Germany, who dropped back from a breakaway, launched an attack which sent him clear of Carapaz and on course to become the first Australian to win the Giro. Hindley drops Carapaz on penultimate stage to move to brink of Giro d'Italia victory

Jai Hindley has usurped Richard Carapaz and is on course to become the first Australian to win the Giro d'Italia after an “epic” showdown in the high ...

“It was a bumpy road back here. It’s a privilege and an honour to wear this again.” At the 2020 Giro d’Italia he assumed the pink leader’s jersey - or maglia rosa - at the end of the penultimate stage via a countback only to lose it in the time trial the following day. The pair weren’t competing for the same things then but were still close on the stage standings, with Hindley finishing only six seconds behind. Kamna paced Hindley along the upper slopes of the Passo Fedaia, setting a tempo that Carapaz could not sustain. Carapaz, missing his key support rider Australian Richie Porte who was forced to withdraw from the race on Friday due to illness, was isolated, having used all his teammates.

The UAE Team Emirates rider took glory in the Dolomites, where the battle for GC was blown up.

Van der Poel and Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroën) were distanced at the back of the group, while Mauri Vansevenant (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) struggled to hold the pace. Hindley and Landa were able to follow as Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) drained his final energy reserves for his team-mate Carapaz. Covi, alone at the front, took a similar advantage under the flamme rouge. Out on the road, Carapaz's time losses multiplied. 3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 1-51 Novak attacked out of the chasing group, ploughing into the Italian’s advantage, which began to tumble. Covi extended his advantage to two minutes on the long, winding descent, with the peloton trailing six minutes behind. With just over 100km to go, the escapees had a gap of six minutes as they hit the foothills of the Passo San Pellegrino. Despite the gruelling double-figure gradients, there were no shake-ups on the day’s first mountain test. After numerous attempts, it took a punchy uncategorised climb 20km into the stage to finally split the peloton. The battle for the maglia rosa was torn to pieces by Jai Hindley on the final climb's vicious gradients. A mountaintop finish then awaited the peloton on the Passo Fedaia – better known as the Marmolada.

Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) won't forget this day in a while.Winning your first ever stage of your home grand tour is significant enough.

He fell in love with cycling at an early age, partly due to watching the Tour de France on TV. He's a passionate follower of bike racing to this day as well an avid road and gravel rider. For the second day in a row they committed to pulling at the front, doing the bulk of the tempo work, while Ineos and Bora sat in the slipstream. So today’s stage, which took the race over 2000m for the first and only time and finished on the Marmolada was nothing short of a godsend. A grand tour doesn’t have a script, this must of course be written on the road. But in the end the effort amounted to little. The Ecuadorian will be disappointed with his finish but it’s hard to fault either his effort or the performance of his Ineos team in general. When the race hit the slopes of the final climb Ineos looked like they were ready to exercise control. He’d promised much, with two top three finishes in the 2021 Giro including a third on the Zoncolan stage won by Lorenzo Fortunato. But two breakthrough wins in the early part of 2022, both in Spain, proved that he was ready to move up a gear and convert his potential into something far more concrete. “I knew it was going to be a crucial stage with the brutal finish,” Hidley said after the stage. As he bobbed rhythmically up to road, carving his way through the crowds and into pink behind him, Carapaz cut a disconsolate figure, rocking from side to side, left to try and limit the time differences. He descended the Pordoi without fear and kicked on in the valley. Certainly it was incentive enough for Covi. Part of the original breakaway, he rode away on the lower slopes of the Passo Pordoi, at 2239m, this year’s high point.

Covi wins from the break as Hindley takes pink jersey and 1:25 lead into final time trial.

Soon, even Landa was back out in front of him. Carapaz was visibly suffering and his slowing pace was clear when Carthy came back and moved out in front of him. When the peloton reached the intermediate sprint and the turning point of the climb, there was a change as Ineos dispensed with Bahrain and took it up on the steeper slopes. The final 5.5km, however, was anything but, with the average into the double digits. There were still 40 riders in the peloton as Poels led it over the top. That was partly due to more disorganisation behind, with Ciccone, Formolo, Kamna, Arensman, Novak, and Pedrero bickering in a sextet and allowing the Jumbo duo of Oomen and Leemreize to come back. After another brief split on the approach, Ballerini led the breakaway onto the climb with 56km to go, their lead down to five minutes as Bahrain continued to work in the valley behind. When the peloton did get organised, it wasn’t Carapaz’s Ineos teammates doing the controlling, but Landa’s Bahrain Victorious, making their intentions clear. However, with 135km to go, things calmed down, the leaders stopped for nature breaks and rain capes, and the breakaway was allowed to build an advantage. Instead, the breakaway once again sailed clear for stage honours, with Covi part of a 14-rider move that went clear on a short early climb on the 168km route. All the way to the top, he extended his advantage as Carapaz cracked and crumbled. With Mikel Landa, whose Bahrain Victorious team worked all day but inflicted no damage, already dropped, Hindley distanced Carapaz 3.5km from the top.

Jai Hindley (Bora–Hansgrohe) has snatched the maglia rosa from Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) after a dramatic finish to stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia.

Spain’s Pedrero and Dutchman Arensman completed the top five before the triumphant Hindley powered over the line, 2:30 down on the stage winner, but with a guaranteed pink jersey firmly on his shoulders. “I was a bit surprised but on the other hand I was super-happy about it. After cresting the Pordoi to take the prestigious Cima Coppi prize, Covi held off a late chase from the Slovenian Domen Novak, whose Bahrain Victorious leader Mikel Landa was unable to produce the same devastating dig as Hindley when push came to shove in the 105th edition of La Corsa Rosa. Hindley’s decisive acceleration came moments after he joined forces with teammate Lennard Kamna after the German rider dropped back from the day’s break to give his leader a timely leg-up while Carapaz was on the ropes. Behind, Ineos seemed to have things under control with Ben Tulett and then Pavel Sivakov whittling down the group of favourites after long pulls. “It was absolutely amazing – everything worked out perfectly, it couldn’t be better,” Kamna said after riding to ninth place.

Richard Carapaz crumbled out of pink in dramatic day in the Dolomites, but what else happened in the top-10? Here's an analysis.

Jan Hirt and Domenico Pozzovivo are cemented into sixth and eighth place respectively, leaving the Czech on course for by far his best grand tour finish and within range of fifth. - Domenico Pozzovivo (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert): +16.04 - Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert): +9.07 - Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious): +8:55 - Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious): +1:51 But with a 1:25 advantage over Carapaz to defend through a 17.4km test Sunday, Bora-Hansgrohe might already be clearing space in its trophy cabinet for the Trofeo Senza Fine.

Jai Hindley (Bora–Hansgrohe) has snatched the maglia rosa from Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) after a dramatic finish to stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia.

Spain’s Pedrero and Dutchman Arensman completed the top five before the triumphant Hindley powered over the line, 2:30 down on the stage winner, but with a guaranteed pink jersey firmly on his shoulders. “I was a bit surprised but on the other hand I was super-happy about it. After cresting the Pordoi to take the prestigious Cima Coppi prize, Covi held off a late chase from the Slovenian Domen Novak, whose Bahrain Victorious leader Mikel Landa was unable to produce the same devastating dig as Hindley when push came to shove in the 105th edition of La Corsa Rosa. Hindley’s decisive acceleration came moments after he joined forces with teammate Lennard Kamna after the German rider dropped back from the day’s break to give his leader a timely leg-up while Carapaz was on the ropes. Behind, Ineos seemed to have things under control with Ben Tulett and then Pavel Sivakov whittling down the group of favourites after long pulls. “It was absolutely amazing – everything worked out perfectly, it couldn’t be better,” Kamna said after riding to ninth place.

Covi scores with 50km solo move, overnight leader Carapaz loses wheel to Hindley in final three kilometers in dramatic GC overturn.

22 22 Team Team Team Carapaz crossed the line 1:28 down on Hindley, his pink jersey bid decisively upturned. Carapaz marked the wheel while Landa and Hugh Carthy (EF Education EasyPost) were gapped. The GC group sat poised for mayhem, a further four minutes back. Bahrain jerseys swamped the front of the peloton as Ineos Grenadiers and Bora-Hansgrohe sat in the wheels. “We stayed patient and saved our matches for today. Hindley pulled on pink courtesy of a pre-planned move. Vincenzo Nibali’s dream of a podium finish was undone on the Fedaia finale.

Barring a disaster in the final stage time trial, the Australian looks set to celebrate his first Grand Tour success. Stream the Giro d'Italia live and on- ...

With a little bit of help from his friend Lenny Kamna, Australia’s Hindley went into the red to take pink – and this time even a shoddy time trial in the race’s official pink skinsuit won’t take it from him on the final day. That 150km shift on the front of the peloton on Friday’s Stage 19 did serve a purpose after all – as the first part of a masterplan that ultimately broke Richard Carapaz’s dreams of pink and propelled Hindley to certain glory. Hindley’s decisive acceleration came moments after he joined forces with teammate Lennard Kamna after the German rider dropped back from the day’s break to give his leader a timely leg-up while Carapaz was on the ropes. Unless he's 15 minutes quicker than Pieter Serry on this course, he will be guaranteed the "maglia nera" - the black jersey - as the last man in the standings of this Giro today. After cresting the Pordoi to take the prestigious Cima Coppi prize, Covi held off a late chase from the Slovenian Domen Novak, whose Bahrain Victorious leader Mikel Landa was unable to produce the same devastating dig as Hindley when push came to shove in the 105th edition of La Corsa Rosa. Jai Hindley was right: he hadn't come to the Giro "to put socks on centipedes" after all. He's 13 seconds down on Hepburn over the climb and behind Magnus Cort looks to be having a bit of a storming ride too... The British rider may be able to cover 54.555km over the course of an hour while cycling around in circles in a velodrome... The Australian is over a minute quicker - 1.05 to be precise - than Van den Berg, so we have a new target time of 23.48 at the finish. The camera was just following Austria's Matthias Brandle, the former Hour Record holder, who would, at least on paper, be a rider to back today. Further up the road, Serry has passed Kluge and will soon be the first to cross the line. Magnus Cort is five seconds clear and is clearly a man on the mission.