to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 11th stage of the 91st Giro d'Italia, a 199-kilometer race from Urbania to Cesena.

Today's stage features four rated climbs, highlighted by the Category 1 Monte Carpegna midway through the route.

Racing began at 11:55 this morning and, as is usually the case, there were several attacks early on. It took about 40km, though, for the first break to stick and, now, at at the 60km mark, the five-man break is already more than five minutes up the road from the main field.

None of the men in the break poses a significant threat on GC. They are:
Laurent Mangel (Ag2r)
Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (CSF Group Navigare)
Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux)
Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni)

and their positions on GC:
32. Jussi Veikkanen (FIN), Francaise des Jeux, at 12:47
105. Alessandro Bertolini (ITA), Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 52:07
108. Pablo Lastras Garcia (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne, at 53:47
122. Tiziano Dall'antonia (ITA), CSF Group Navigare, at 59:31
138. Laurent Mangel (FRA), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1:09:11

continues to grow, with the five leaders now 7:10 ahead of the main field. Any bets on how long today's leash might be?

in the break is Jussi Veikkanen from FDJ. He's known as a strong time trialist and sprinter. He's earned three Finnish national road championships over his career, earning that title in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Assuming that these fellas stay away and he holds his own over the Cat. 1 Monte Carpegna (big assumptions, we know) he may be a big threat on the run into Cesena today.

offers up a 50-percent chance of rain, with winds around 8mph and temperatures in the mid 60s (19c).

this is a pretty effective little group out there. They've managed to build a gap of 8:15 as they work their way up and over the day's first ranked climb, the Category 2 ascent of San Marino. Up next is the Cat. 1 Monte Carpegna, followed by the Cat. 2 Pericara and the Cat. 3 Sorrivoli, which summits 20km from the finish.

hits the top of the San Marino climb 7:38 behind the escapees.

a new time check puts the escapees at 8:11.

Hit the "contact our editors" link below the Update window and we'll try to address your questions and concerns throughout today's update.

the escapees are at 80km and have upped their advantage to 9:10. As a reminder, the escapees and their positions on GC:
32. Jussi Veikkanen (FIN), Francaise des Jeux, at 12:47
105. Alessandro Bertolini (ITA), Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 52:07
108. Pablo Lastras Garcia (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne, at 53:47
122. Tiziano Dall'antonia (ITA), CSF Group Navigare, at 59:31
138. Laurent Mangel (FRA), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1:09:11

this is the home region of Marco Pantani, the tragic figure who stunned the cycling world with his remarkable abilities as a climber. He used a lot of these same roads as a training ground, before his death on February 14, 2004. He was born in Cesena on January 13, 1970. He made his first real mark in the Giro when he won two mountain stages in 1994, he eventually won the Giro in 1998, the same year he won the Tour.

Of course, he was plagued by doping allegations and was ejected from the 1999 Giro on the penultimate day, when a blood test showed his hematorcrit was over the permissible 50 percent. The impact was far more serious than the two week "rest" ordered by the UCI.

it's increasingly uphill from here to the top of the Monte Carpegna, which summits at 107km. The climb reaches a height of 1415 meters and officially begins around 6.6km from the summit, but the approach is quite long and represents a gradual climb upward. On the formal portion of the climb itself, the road averages 9.9 percent, so those 6.6km are not easy.

Since it's located midway on today's route the climb really shouldn't have a serious impact on GC. We'll see sprinters spit off here and there, but there'll be plenty of time for those marginal climbers to catch back on.

Looking ahead, stage 14's summit finish on Saturday may be the first real opportunity for the pure climbers to mount an assault on GC. That day ends with a 7.7km climb to the Alpe di Pampeago, which averages 9.6 percent.

Reader "MJ" writes in to ask:

Could you tell us what happened with the "time gap" Levi and some of the other riders received while withing the final 3K of last Thursday's' Stage 6 race?

The race jury, in all of its wisdom, rulked that the crash involving a police motorcycle just under 1km to go “did not cause a time gap” in the rising finish into the fishing village at Peschici.

Leipheimer lost about 24 seconds in that mishap. Who knows? We'd like to say that it's not significant, but remember the little towing penalty he earned in last year's Tour?

is falling and the chase is on, although it doesn't appear to be all that pleasant for the boys in the field. The gap is now at 8:45.

the base of the Cat.1 Monte Carpegna, the gap is at 8:45.

and his LPR team are really setting a blistering pace into this climb. LPR is doing a job on the main field, but the pace isn't affecting Contador and Kloden. They're holding on to Di Luca's pace.

Di Luca is just putting the hammer down. He had a bad ride yesterday and maybe he's showing his teammates that he's still in charge. We see Simoni, Ricco, Kloden, Contador, Jurgen Van den Broeck and a few others in there. One rider we don't see in that little bunch is Leipheimer... but there is a group of 10 chasing hard. Maybe he's in there.

While the mountain itself is 1415 meters high, the road only reaches 1358 meters.

Out on the road, the DiLuca chase is really pulling time out of the break. We see the gap is now down to 6:35.

has grown to about 20 riders, and we do see Leipheimer in there. This is a tough climb and it's really taking a toll on the peloton. These are narrow roads through forested hills. Di Luca seems intent on making time.

up the climb. It's now about 25 riders and Kloden, Leipheimer and Contador are in there.

are still together as a group of five. We haven't heard a time check... but we'll get a good one at the top.

leaders have just crested the climb. We'll see when the Di Luca group - now up to 30 riders - hits the top.

is Giovanni Visconti, the Quick Step rider in the maglia rosa. He's trailing the Di Luca group by nearly 2:00.

has eased off a bit and the group is growing as riders fight to rejoin. His LPR teammate Alessandro Spezialetti continues to set tempo at the front.

is showing real skill. He's setting tempo at the front and slipping his coat on at the same time. The group now crests the summit 5:06 behind the five leaders.

of about 30 riders summits about 1:00 behind the Di Luca group. We can expect some of them, including double stage winner Daniele Bennati, to rejoin.

The maglia rosa group crosses at 2:12 behind Di Luca.

Someone in the break hit the deck on a wet corner. We need to ID him.

the descent is sure making people nervous. Understandably so. The caution exhibited by the big Di Luca group is allowing others to catch back on, including the ever-feisty Paolo Bettini.

We see the leaders riding, but there are four of them and they seem to be missing Alessandro Bertolini. Was he the one who crashed?

Behind him, Franco Pellizotti has pulled over. He's having some problems... but they don't appear to be major.

the Di Luca group is at the base of the climb. Franco Pellizotti appears to have had a small crash... one that didn't even result in his hitting the ground.

rider has had problems. Cataldo overcooked a turn... and appears not to be in a real hurry to get back riding, but he will.

is working his way back after a mechanical visit to his team car. He doesn't seem like he's much worse for wear, but his bike was a bit buggered.

The gap back to the Di Luca group of 30 is now 5:40.

and his companions are at 7:52. He's lost more than two minutes to the Di Luca, Kloden, Contador group.

The rain continues to fall and the roads are quite wet. The weather at the finish, however, is still quite pleasant.

has been named to Germany's Olympic team for Beijing. The German Cycling Federation just sent out a release.

Bosisio (third on GC) has moved out of the Di Luca group with Fortunato Baliani (ITA), CSF Group Navigare.

Meanwhile, we've had a few questions about Maurizio Soler, that great climber from Colombia who made such a mark on the Tour de France last year. He abandoned earlier in the stage. We'll try to get more information as to why.

and the LPR team are still at the front of the chase group and the leaders are beginning to work their way up the Cat. 2 Perticara.

There was another crash in the break. Tiziano Dall'antonia has blood on his leg and arm. It looks relatively fresh, too, since the injury on his elbow has soaked through his rain jacket. Bertolini, too, is bruised and battered. He's drifting back to the med' car.

is getting attention from the mobile doc'. His knee is bleeding.

Behind, the Di Luca group has grown to about 45 riders. And they're nearing the base of the climb. The rain is letting up and some of the riders are pulling off their jackets in preparation for the climb.

is really struggling on the climb. He's slipping back out of the lead group.

is shrinking again. There are about 30 riders there. One rider of note is Paolo Bettini. He's got to be hoping for an opportunity today. Of course, he has to get past the next two climbs... and an even bigger hurdle: Daniele Bennati is in the group, too.

The Basisio, Baliani duo are just around 1:11 behind the leading five. Since Basisio is an LPR man, Di Luca and his other teammates have eased up.

is still climbing and it's growing in size, since they've slowed.

Up front, we still have our original five escapees
Laurent Mangel (Ag2r)
Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (CSF Group Navigare)
Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux)
Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni)

A couple of those guys are battered and bleeding from crashes on the route today.

They are being chased by Basisio and Baliani at about 1:00.

The growing DiLuca group crested the Cat. 2 climb 5:45 behind the leaders. It looks like the race leader Visconti has fought back and joined the Di Luca group.

are closing in. They are now 50 seconds behind the five leaders. Back in the Di Luca group, the chase work is now being handled by Quick Step, intent upon protecting Visconti's lead - and maybe setting up Bettini for a stage win - and they've trimmed the gap by 10 seconds over the last few kilometers.

LPR has had a bit of bad luck Basisio hit the deck on a wet turn. He's up and riding, but dang that looked like it hurt.

is up and chasing... Baliani is plowing ahead on his own, with the escape group within site.

The Visconti group is at 5:20.

is at 42 seconds as the leaders are coming up to the next climb. Poor Basisio is at 1:24 ad the Visconti group is at 5:25. We have just 50km of racing left.

is putting a rider in the mix with Quick Step.

is closing in on the five leaders. Bosisio is still chasing. Really that crash looked bad.

Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare) has joined the lead group.

we have a six-man break:
:
Laurent Mangel (Ag2r)
Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (CSF Group Navigare) and Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare)
Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux)
Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni)

the sun is coming out. We actually see shadows on the road.

Basisio is still chasing the six leaders, but he's losing time. He's at 2:36. The maglia rosa group is at 4:55.

appears to be lessening as Basisio continues to fade.

to go. The leaders are heading to the day's sprint mark - you'll see it marked by "Expo" on your map.

Basisio is stuck in no-man's-land with 40km to go. He's about 2:20 behind the leaders and about 2:30 ahead of the peloton.

has really put the hammer down on this small descent. It's a windy road and he seemed frustrated by other riders picking somewhat unpredictable lines on this road. He's put on a big gap of about 10 seconds.

is really going for it. He's off on his own and the gap is up to about 15 or 20 seconds. Ahead the roads are nice and dry.

Lastras is being pulled back by the rest of the break. It may have been just his discomfort with the way these other guys were descending.

Basisio is still out there in the middle. Poor fella.

Meanwhile... Bettini has flatted and is now chasing.

The leaders have just passed under the 35km to go mark.

is still having problems. He's back at his team car.

The chase group is approaching the 35km to go mark and the cross beneath the banner at 4:35.

working up another small climb and we may actually see a stage winner come out of this group. This will be a good finish. The gap back to the chase is 4:35 and Basisio is still caught in the middle.

On the slopes of an unrated climb, Ricco puts in a big effort. He's really putting the hurt on the peloton.

The leaders are over the top. 30km to go.

has trimmed the field... but the biggies are still with him.

In response to a reader question, there is a noticeable absence of argyle in this chase group.

has drifted back to help Di Luca put in a big effort.

are over the top, with a gap of 3:30. It is a do-able gap. Bettini is close to regaining the chase group. He's helping keep Visconti within range.

Colombian, Mauricio A. Ardila Cano is attacking on the descent.

effort and the LPR digs, the chase group is made up of 30, with another group of 10 or so, including Bettini and Visconti, about to join up.

group, we still see the big powers in there, so Leipheimer, Kloden, Van den Broek, Contador, Piepoli, Ricco, Visconti, Bettini and others are still in the mix. Now we just have to see if the six men off the front stay away.

are on Cat. 3 Sorrivoli climb. They have 3:10 on the chase.

Ardilo, meanwhile, decks it.

We see Leipheimer, Sella, Visconti, Bettini and others on the road.

group because of the crash. We're still trying to sort out the damage.

The leaders are now 25km from the finish.

and Visconti are up and chasing. Piepoli was taking his time getting up.

attacks out of the lead group. But the rest of the men respond.

Meanwhile, Visconti, Bettini, Leipheimer and other are working to rejoin and look like they'll do it.

crosses at 3:18. Leipheimer, Kloden, Piepoli, Visconti, Bettini and others are trailing by about a minute.

attacks on the descent. Correction. We see Kloden and Contador up front in the chase group. Still the escapees are working their way up the road, having dropped two of their companions.

Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (CSF Group Navigare) and Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare)
Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni)

Laurent Mangel (Ag2r) and Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux) are 19 seconds back. There is a small chase group at 3:20 and we have less than 18km to go.

The Visconti group is about 20 seconds behind the chase, led by Di Luca. It looks like Leipheimer may lose more time today.

to go. The chasing duo of Laurent Mangel (Ag2r) and Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux) are now 43 seconds behind the four leaders.

The four leaders - Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (CSF Group Navigare) and Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare)
Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni) - are beginning to appear confident.

Behind, the Di Luca group is easing up a bit, which means the Visconti/Leipheimer group may rejoin.

The gap to the four leaders is 3:13.

are coming into town. They have a significant lead, even over the two closest chasers.

They pass the finish line, signalling the start of an 11.9km loop. We'll get good time checks here.

cross the line about 1:00 back.

reformed, with Leipheimer, Visconti and others close to rejoining. The chase is more than 3:20 behind the leaders, though.

working up a small climb - one that anywhere else would rate GPM points.

the group is down to three. They've dropped Tiziano Dall'Antonia.

Six kilometers to go, folks.

Bettini and Visconti group have rejoined the main chase group. Meanwhile High Road's Pinotti is taking a dig out of that group.

Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne), Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare) and Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni) are heading home. We'll see the winner emerge from this group, with just 3km to go.

the chase group is now trailing the leading three by 4:00.

tries a dig... but they ain't letting him get anywhere.

Baliani hits the deck

after the crash and he goes! He's going to win it!

was looking over his shoulder as he was going through a turn... a decked it. Lastras got caught behind him... and Bertolini was given this stage on a silver plater.

With two guys in the final four CSF Group Navigare really blew this one.

Laurent Mangel (Ag2r) and Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux) finish at 1:33.

There'll be a field sprint for points, but the stage - despite its drama - will not make all that much difference on GC... except maybe for the absence of Russ.

won by Daniele Bennati, adding to his lead on the points jersey. They finish at 4:06. Visconti is in there. Russ, however, is nowhere to be seen.

on GC. Stand by

He hit a small object on the road... he was distracted and that may have contributed, but his rear wheel hit something and he went down.

After all of that action, crashing, getting dropped on climbs and more, Visconti keeps the jersey. What a day, eh?

Bertolini is the oldest stage winner in this year's Giro. He's never won a grand tour stage before. That's got to be a nice cap to a career... not that we're suggesting he is about to retire.

1. Alessandro Bertolini (I), Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, 199km in 5:44:22 (34.672kph)
2. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:05
3. Fortunato Baliani (It), CSF Group Navigare, at 0:16
4. Laurent Mangel (F), Ag2r, at 1:33
5. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin), Française des Jeux, at 1:33

They are doing all of the presentations, but Visconti is still not up there. He crossed the line holding his arm, so there is a chance he may have hurt himself in that fall.

failed to put in time, but Russ's absence from the chase group means that he has moved up GC to second. Contador is now in third, but still at 6:50.

makes his podium appearance 30 minutes after the finish, and he looks like he's hurtin. He's even having trouble walking and putting on the maglia rosa.

that's a wrap. We'll be back tomorrow, hopefully for a more sedate stage than today's edition of the Italian National Asphalt-Surfing Championships.

See you tomorrow.