Giro d’Italia stage 19 LIVE: Gee-West and Storer in big breakaway clear during queen stage in the Dolomites

In the breakaway group, Harper has just attacked.

Van der Lee is being absorbed by the peloton. He doesn’t quite have the climbing legs to compete with Ciccone and Rbio for the mountains classification.

Ciccone and Rubio leading the race.

The big breakaway group is coming back to Ciccone and Rubio, with only 15 seconds now separating them.

Rubio and Ciconne go through the intermediate sprint in that order, but it’s all moot, with Magnier poised to win that classification.

There was only a very brief descent of the Coi climb, and they’re going uphill again to the summit of Forcella Staulanza. This one’s hard enough ,averaging 6.7% for 6.3km, but pales in comparison with what’s to come.

Now the peloton reach the top, still being led by Rex, 2:41 after Ciccione and Rubio.

The rest of the break crest the climb a whole 40 seconds back.

Back at the front, Ciccone and Rubio are nearing the summit.

And one rider missing struggling at the back of it is Afonso Eulálio. He smiles at the camera, but is in danger of being dropped.

Back in the peloton, there are only about 25 riders leftin it.

Ciccono and Rubio are pushing on and there’s daylight between themselves and the rest of the breakaway.

Ciccone accelerates, and Rubio is on his wheel.

This lead group’s advantage to the peloton is getting bigger and bigger, now up to 2:30. That’s putting Hindley, Arensman and Gall’s places on GC under pressure.

The ten riders who have joined the fourteen leaders: Gee-West, Storer, Rondel, Barta, De le Cruz, Rafferty, López, Milesi, Sobrero and Stork.

That gives us another very big group of over 20 riders at the front of the race.

The Storer/Gee-West group has caught the leaders!

The Storer/Gee-West group is travelling up this climb quicker than any of the other groups at the moment, coming to with 30 seconds of the leaders, and over two minutes ahead of the peloton. That means Storer and Gee-West have both overtaken Afonso Eulálio on the virtual GC.

The leaders went well on that descent, increasing their lead to the chasers to 47 seconds, and on the peloton to 2:10.

The leaders have plunged down the descent, and are climbing again already, up the steep (9.4%) slopes of the 5.8km Coi climb.

A snapshot of some of the riders in the break of the day.

90KM TO GO

The 14 leaders are 40 seconds ahead of the Storer/Gee-West group, and 1:23 ahead of the peloton.

The lead group in full: Ciccone, Van der Lee, Rubio, Mas, Milesi, Kuss, Caruso, Pellizzari, Poels, Kulset, Bettiol, Hirt, Harper and Svestad-Bårdseng

Van der Lee starts his sprint, but Ciccone comes around him.

Bettiol is leading as they near the summit.

Rubio is here, and will have his eye on the KOM points at the top. As will Ciccone and Van der Lee.

A few more riders have joined the lead group from behind.

Behind, the Storer/Gee-West group is 43 seconds behind the leaders, and 43 seconds ahead of the peloton.

The front group now has twelve riders in it, the selection forming on this climb. They are just 2km from the top.

O’Connor has been brought back by the peloton, still being led by Visma’s Rex.

Kuss and Van der Lee were two of those riders to come back with Mas.

Mas has dragged about 5 or 6 riders to Bettiol, Harper and Ciccone.

It’s mightily impressive to see Bettiol ride like this in his unfavoured terrain of the high mountains.

Bettiol is attacking again, and is again taking Harper and Ciccone with him.

It’s still a large group of about 20 that leads, with the Storer/Gee-West chase group about 40 seconds behind, continuing to pick and and drop riders falling back from the lead group.

Harper, Ciccone and Bettiol have been brought back.

O’Connor had dropped back from the group ahead, and has now been dropped from that group. He’s shown fight today, but appears to be on another bad day.

O’Connor is also in the Storer/Gee-West group.

Arrieta and Sobrero are also in this Storer group, while Rondel and Barta are the two Tudor teammates he has with him to pace.

Harper, Ciccone and Bettiol have attacked out of the lead group.

Storer has two riders with him to pace him, with Gee-West on his wheel. Storer in 7th on GC, Gee-West 6th.

Visma are still happy to ride tempo, however, with Rex riding tempo at the front of the peloton.

Storer and Gee-West have attacked out of the peloton. Ths is getting complicated in the GC race – Storer and Gee-West are wary of Caruso getting up the road, as he treatens their GC placings, but their attacks put the men above them on GC, Eulálio and Hindley, under threat too.

Caurso and the others who tried to attack out of the break, but Ciccone has attacked again.

Caurso is joined by Harper, Ciccone, Rubio and Van der Lee.

Caruso is also in this group – and has just attacked out it.

Also in that group: Rubio, Mas, Poels, Van der Lee, and others.

The Ciccone chase group hae bridged up to the lead group.

Visma have let the wheel go, and this group being led by Sobrero and Ciccone have gone clear of the peloton.

In the peloton, Sobrero leads with his Lidl teammate Ciccone on his wheel.

In the front group it’s still Bjerg who’s leading and setting the tempo.

Despite having Kuss in that group, Visma weren’t happy with it and brought it back.

The lead group is down to 11 riders.

Vingegaard has talked a lot about wanting to give his teammates a chance at a stage win, and Kuss here is enjoying the freedom to go for it.

Now come the attacks from the peloton, and there are some big names – Ciccone, Kuss and Mas are all trying to go clear.

Dversenes and Turconi are dropped too.

In the peloton, Visma have moved to the front to ride tempo.

This is a strong group, but likely to start breaking up now they’re going uphill. Denz is the first to be dropped.

Bjerg leads the leading group onto the climb.

The 11-man chase group has caught the 5-man lead group, and they lead the peloton by 40 seconds.

Lidl are leading the chase in the peloton., presumably for their man Giulio Ciccone

With the exception of Passo Giau, this one is the hardest of the day, averaging a brutal 8.1% for 12.1km.

The riders are getting very near the start of the first climb of the day, Passo Duran.

Those riders in the chase are: Kench, Christen, Bjerg, Pincarello, Rota, Garcia Cortina, Silva, Leemreze, Crescioli, Tarozzi and Tarconi.

A chase group of ten has formed behind the leaders and are bearing down on them.

This quintet is looking good, building a lead of 15 seconds.

Denz, Kulset and Dversnes are also with Harper and Stork.

Harper has Stork with him.

The previous break was brought back, and now Harper has tried another move.

Storer is riding right at the back of the peloton, and appears to be labouring a little. He needs to be on a good day as he has a seventh place on GC to defend.

A more promising group of about 15 have got a few seconds, but Red Bull aren’t happy with hit and have put Moscon at the front of the peloton to chase.

Narváez has been one of the starts of this Giro, but something must have happened to him earlier today missed by the TV cameras. That ends his hopes of competing for the points classification.

Crash for Donovan. He’s up and looks OK but is having to wait for a new bike.

Narváez hadn’t dropped back for a mechanical, but rather for the medical car. It’s unclear what’s happened to him.

Actually that 6 riders, and 2 of them are Tarozzi and Mifsud.

Five new riders are up the road, Cavagna leadng them.

Narváez has had a mechanical and is out the back of the peloton. There is an intermediate sprint in the first half of the stage, but with a massive category one mountain to get over before it, it’s likely beyond his realms of possibility to take points at.

A new five-man group is trying to form, featuring Chris Harper. He’s exactly the mix of quality climber while also being far enough down on GC to potentially let go that make him a candidate for the stage win from the break.

The road continues to undulate up and down, and on this latest uphill section Teutenberg moves to the front.

But they too have been brought back.

Four riders being led by a Groupama rider have a small gap.

Arrieta and then Donovan both attack, but both are brought back.

All four have been caught.

This is intersting, as they’re the teams representing the men third and fourth on GC, Arensman and Hindley.

The Ineos attackers are Haig and Turner, and two riders have gone with them,both of them Red Bull – Vlasov and Denz.

Netcompany Ineos have now fired two riders up the road, after Ganna’s long turn at the front.

The pace being set by Ganna is discouraging anyone from attacking for now.

Nobody’s gone clear, and Netcompany Ineos have taken over to ride at the front of the peloton with Ganna.

That move has been shut down and a new wave begins.

Bouwman and Juul-Jensen are the two Jayco riders, and they’re with Groupama’s Rochas.

Three men have a gap, including 2 Jayco riders.

Multiple attacks are being made on what are draggy roads, but nothing’s stuck yet.

Barguil is on the front trying to get a gap.

Though most of this stage is spent either climbing or descending that isn’t the case for the opening 40km, which are all flat save for a few undulations. That could make it harder for the climbing stage-hunters to get into the break, while giving a chance for the heavier non-climbers to get a handy head start.

Jonas Vingegaard in pink and Afonso Eulálio in white, both of whom will be under pressure to defend their GC placings today.

The riders are on the move in Feltre for the unofficial start.

It’s also taking place in arguably the most beautiful and iconic landmark of the Giro – the Dolomites. These unique mountains will provide a stunning backdrop to the racing today, though the ordeal of climbing up them may make it impossible for the riders to appreciate the views.

There have been many hard days of challenges at this Giro, but none as hard as this.With over 5,000m of climbing to be taken on including the mighty Passo Giau, this is the queen stage of the race.

Hello and welcome to stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia!