Giro d'Italia 2025 Stage 8 LIVE - A day for the breakaway as Primoz Roglic looks to lend out the maglia rosa

1. Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana) 29'21'23"
2. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) +0'12"
3. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - Bora Hansgrohe) +0'17"
4. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates XRG) +0'20"
5. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) +0'26"
6. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) 0'44"
7. Max Poole (Picnic PostNL) +0'47"
8. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) +0'50"
9. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG) +0'51"
10. Simon Yates (Visma - Lease a Bike) +0'56"

A bellow of delight from the man in his mid-30s, as he transforms his palmares in a stroke. That was quite the day of bike racing.

Hoping, praying, the bunch will call it off. They've got about 1km to ride. Rob Hatch calculates it as 4'38 or more for Ulissi to take the jersey.

He only gets four bonus seconds because Kelderman takes the six. Will it be enough?

We await the pink jersey fallout, but this is Plappy's day. Have we not been entertained?

He's going to be fine for the stage, 48 seconds to the good.

It's under five minutes to Plapp, which means Ulissi has about five seconds in hand. I think the dream might be dying.

Not factoring in bonuses. At the moment he's got about half a minute more than that over the bunch, who seem to be riding. Ulissi needs to hit all the way to the line.

Gagliole is less than a kilometre in length but it's a real grind. "He's proved me wrong" says Sean Kelly, magnanimously.

Sliding back to recover in the wheels, if they let him, and if he can hold it. A few choice words clearly come from the Italian, who is now the Giro leader on the road, by 20 seconds from his team-mate Fortunato. If the race were to end now, Primoz Roglic would be in 3rd by 42 seconds.

Who may have had hopes of getting across, but those have surely now been dashed. Ulissi took two bonus seconds at the Red Bull kilometre, which matters rather more at this point, you'd argue. One more classified climb remaining which, although pretty steep, is also short. Jensie thinks Plapp's got this. So do I.

UAE seem to have eased off the pressure on Red Bull from the bunch, and one way or another it looks like Italy are going to get their first maglia rosa in four years. In the Red Bull kilometer Igor Arrieta wants to deny Diego Ulissi a few seconds and hits out from that group.

"It's looking very good for him" says Sean Kelly, who didn't think he should have gone when he did. But the three riders behind are faring worse than him. "He should be able to hold out all the way."

Just passed the 240 minute mark and Plapp is looking very good for his 40 second lead, with Arrieta, Kelderman and Ulissi chasing. Finally we see Plapp's team car allowed to move up to him. Get those carbs down you, son. Could have been earlier, you'd think.

He's in full time trial mode on this pedaling descent. It's getting hot, as he asks the TV bike pilot for a drink, and is passed one.

We haven't thought about those guys for a while, but Andrea Pasqualon (Bahrain Victorious) moved to the front to put some pressure on Red Bull. To what ends, it's hard to be sure, but it's reduced Primoz Roglic's support by a couple. UAE have since added to that firepower, but there's still a good five minutes 30 between the bunch and now Luke Plapp, the lone leader.

Maybe just wants to take a bit of a lead over the top and onto the descent, to limit the effects of his weaknesses. He looks great on a bike, steady as you like, which is especially apparent when you can readily compare it to the ungainly style of Arrieta.

And it won't be long before Luke Plapp pulls up to them too. 1.5km left of this climb, leaving one more uncategorized riser and a couple of uncategorized ones.

The fatigue is being felt and the sorting is happening on the lower sections of this 6km Montelago climb. The neutral service flies past and Bardet knows it's now or never. I don't think he's got enough left.