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Giro d'Italia - *Vasto - Pescocostanzo

Live Comments

----- - Visconti is seven seconds in front of Russ in the GC, with Bosisio and Di Luca next in the overall standings. Contador is ninth and Ricco seventh with most of the main contenders (Di Luca, Contador, Ricco, etc.) about seven minutes behind the pink jersey. Thanks for following our LIVE coverage and join us tomorrow for continued coverage with stage eight!
----- - Stage six order: 1. Bosisio 2. Kiryienka 46' 3. Sella 1'02" 4. Cardenas 1'33, 5. Di luca 2'04 6. Ricco "" 7. Piepoli 2'06" 8. Contador 2'10 - Rebellin leads the remaining peloton, with Kloeden and Menchov not far behind at 2'55" off of the winning pace. Visconti maintains the pink jersey.
0km - Di Luca crosses the line right in front of Ricco about two minutes behind the victor, with Piepoli losing about three seconds on his team-mate and the LPR man, and Alberto Contador really suffering at the finish dropping a decent amount of time on Di Luca and Ricco.
0km - LPR man Gabriele Bosisio has taken a stunning victory in the first mountain stage of the Giro D'Italia, he comes in about 30 seconds in front of his nearest rival Kiryienka. Sella is third about a minute back, and Cardenas is fourth at 1'30" back.
0.5km - Only 0.5km to go for Gabriele Bosisio ......
2km - Bosisio has 18 seconds over Kiryienka and looks like he's going to take a surprise stage victory. Tour of Spain champion Denis Menchov and Gilberto Simoni are doing everything they can to rejoin the Ricco-Di Luca group.
3km - Former victor Gilberto Simoni is leading the second chase group, who are 30 seconds behind the Di Luca group...
5km - At five K from the finish line, Bosisio, who is only racing in his second Giro, has gone out to a solo lead with having dropped previous break-away companion Kiryienka.
7km - Sella launched an attack about two kilometres back, but he seems to have suffered a puncture at some point and has now lost out to the other leaders, who have overtaken him.
7km - Baliani drops back into the chase group of Piepoli, Ricco, Di Luca and Contador. We'll see if he can keep up with the stars.
9km - Ricco tries another push at the front, but Di Luca and Contador, the reigning Tour of Italy and Tour de France champions respectively, stay with him.
10km - THE LEADERS HAVE REACHED THE SUMMIT OF THE PIETRANSERI : Emmanuele Sella takes the points and of course will wear the mountain jersey, as we've already said, tomorrow.
11km - The Saunier Duval team-mates Ricco and Piepoli have countered Di Luca's efforts and are relaying to try to force their two GC rivals out of the pack.
11km - Di Luca has burst out of the peloton with Ricco and Contador on his wheel! The favourites making a move now!! Juaquim Rodriguez is also there, but he is subsequently dropped by that enormous burst from the 2007 Giro champion!
13km - Leonardo Piepoli makes an attack now as Visconti rejoins the peloton, which is being dropped.
16km - The rainbow jersey is doing very well to help Visconti back near the main group on this critical climb.
17km - Giovanni Visconti has dropped out of the peloton, with world champion and team-mate Paolo Bettini trying to drag his compatriot back into the fray.
17km - Junction between the peloton and the chase group.
18km - The peloton has closed the gap to 4'04" and are within striking distance of Garate's group.
18km - Some of Di Luca's LPR team-mates are pushing at the front of the peloton, with the pink jersey Visconti really beginning to struggle on this climb.
19km - Ardila and Efimkin are dropped from the chase group.
21km - The Cat. 2 Pietransieri ascent begins for our five leaders.
24km - Astana and Diquigiovanni have been pushing the peloton along with Saunier Duval.
25km - The chase group led by VDB and Garate is 3'40" behind the five leaders, while the pink peloton is 5'48" off pace after grouping back together.
34km - The chase group are now 2'52" behind the leaders.
35km - Felix Cardenas is now doing some of the work at the front of the lead group. The five leaders are 35 kilometres from break-away glory....
45km - Gaps after that Cat. 1 climb, 2'25" back to the chasers and 6'49" back to the pink jersey group.
48km - Sella will wear the climber's jersey in tomorrow's stage, as he now has 25 points to 11 for Cardenas and 6 for Baliani.
49km - The old mountain goat Sella is doing all the work at the front of the lead group now, as the four co-leaders are just riding his wheel. Sella should have another easy time taking the mountain points and he does, taking the 10 points, with Cardenas taking six and Baliani taking four.
50km - This is the most gruelling portion of today's climbs.
55km - Spilak and Horrach are 55 seconds behind their five former co-leaders, while the chase group splits apart as well.
58km - Saunier Duval and S. Quidigiovanni are pushing the front of the pink jersey group.
59km - Average speed after three hours : 38,100 km/h.
60km - Spilak and then Horrach are dropped on the Rionero Sannitico....
65km - The leaders are already on the ascent of today's second and most difficult climb, the Rionero Sannitico (cat.1).
69km - At the summit of the Valico di Macerone, the chase group is about 3'10" behind the seven. Sella, unsurprisingly, takes the three climber points in front of Cardenas and Baliani.
69km - Here are some of those climbing threats in the chase group : Daniele Pietropolli (LPR Brakes), Nicolas Rousseau (AG2R La Mondiale), Maxim Iglinsky (Astana), Assan Bazayev (Astana) Steve Cummings (Barloworld), Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne), José Rujano (Caisse d'Epargne), Yann Huguet (Cofidis), Filippo Savini (CSF Group Navigare) Markel Irizar (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Lilian Jégou (Française des Jeux) Ruslan Ivanov (Serramenti).
70km - The leaders are about to reach the day's first mountain, the Valico di Macerone (cat.3).
71km - The lead group: Joan Horrach Rippoll (Caisse d'Epargne), Felix Cardenas (Barloworld), Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare), Simon Spilak (Lampre), Emmanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare), Gabriele Bosisio (Team LPR) and Vasil Kiryienko (Tinkoff).
72km - The pink jersey group are now just 5'24" behind the seven leaders.
82km - The leaders reach the feed zone at Miranda. The perfect excuse to go get an Italian-themed lunch.... Or maybe just canteen-style fish and chips.
90km - With 90km to go until the finish line the seven leaders now have just 3'45" over the chasers. The pink jersey group is also making up some ground (6'35").
97km - As they reach the town of Carovilli, the 32-man chase group are four minutes behind the leaders, with the maglia rosa group 7'22" in tow.
98km - Average speed after two hours of riding: 37,600 km/h.
100km - The pink jersey peloton cuts the gap to 8'15" between it and the leading peloton as we are now 80km into this stage.
110km - Two abandonees to report as the Italian sprinter Alberto Loddo (Tinkoff) and Belarusian Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux) have given up on this stage.
118km - The lead group: Joan Horrach Rippoll (Caisse d'Epargne), Felix Cardenas (Barloworld), Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare), S. Simon Spilak (Lampre), Emmanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare), Gabriele Bosisio (Team LPR) and Vasil Kiryienko (Tinkoff).
120km - Three men join the lead group to make it a seven-man break-away.
125km - 1'23" for the leaders over the 32 chasers. The pink jersey group is now a full 9'30" off pace.
132km - Savini and Lastras Garcia are dropped... The now four-man lead group now have a one minute advantage over the 32-man lead peloton.
135km - One rider who did not start today is Estonian Rene Mandri. The AG2R man suffered a perforated chest, and broken rib, vertebra and radius in a crash in Thursday's sixth stage. He is in the hospital and will not be transported back to France before next week.
138km - Two men have joined the previous leading trio at the front to make for a now leading cinque. In addition to Savini, Bosisio and Kiryienko, the two riders Felix Cardenas (Barloworld) and Pablo Lastras Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) have joined the escape.
140km - Average speed in the first hour of riding: 40,100 km/h.
150km - After 30km of riding the gap back to the pink jersey group is eight minutes. The leaders are descending the minor Boulevard per Fraine mount.
150km - Sella is quickly caught by the main leading bunch, now made up of 32 men. The three leaders now have about 40 seconds over said main bunch. A lot of goings ons going on before we hit the mountains.
155km - Three men have broken out of the lead group now: Gabriele Bosisio (Team LPR), Filippo Savini (CSF Group Navigare) and Vasil Kiryienko (Tinkoff) have 32 seconds over the chaser Emmanuele Sella, CSF Group Navigare's GC leader.
158km - The pink jersey Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) is caught in the second group. After 22 kilometres of riding, the split is already four minutes and 50 seconds.
160km - 37 riders in the lead group. Right behind this group, Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni) is giving a solo chase and is now 43 seconds off pace.
165km - Because of the pace at the front of the peloton, the main bunch has actually split into two main bunches. The second peloton is about 18 seconds behind the first.
167km - The peloton is going at a fast clip right now, with no one being allowed to escape.
168km - That was quick. The peloton easily catches Kiriyenko. A four kilometre break-away to start us off.
170km - A timid response from the peloton. Italy's Gabriele Bosisio (Team LPR), and last year's winner Danilo Di Luca, try to keep up with the first attack.
172km - First attack of the day: The Belarusian Vasil Kiryienko has a go (Tinkoff).
177km - Today's first mountain stage will see the peloton face three major climbs: Valico di Macerone (cat.3) at km 118, Rionero Sannitico (cat.1) at km 131,7 and Pietransieri (cat.2) at km 166,5.
----- - Welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of this seventh Giro D'Italia stage, a 180-km mountainous journey from Vasto to Pescocostanzo!