Refresh
These are the five attackers: Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Diego Sevilla (Team Polti VisitMalta), Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Tim Naberman (Team Picnic PostNL Raisin), Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5).
Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5) is the last to jump across, the last to get a ticket for the break of the day.
A few other riders have joined Milan, with more coming.
It will be fascinating to see who has the courage and ambition to attack from the start.
There are several Visma riders up front, ready to control the early attacks.
The riders face a 4.3km neutralised sector and then the 244km of racing.
Here we go! The riders roll slowly out of Formia as the small town celebrates a day as a Giro host.
The maglia rosa Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious) is also on the front of the grid.
The riders are lining up on the start line for the roll out. Andiamo!
The opening photo is of Jai Hindley when he won on the Blockhaus in 2022.
What is the Blockhaus? And why does it matter so much in this year’s Giro d’Italia?
Riders are signing on in Formia. There is tension in the air and fear for the 244km in the saddle.
And this is the Blockhaus climb.
This is the stage map for the 244km ride into and up to the Abruzzo mountains.
This is the stage profile.
This is our stage preview.
The sun is out on Formia on the coast north of Naples. Rain is likely during the long ride into the Apennines but fortunately the Blockhaus is close to the Adriatic coast and so the weather should stay dry.
Are we ready? Today is the longest stages of this year’s Giro and one of the toughest, with the Blockhaus mountain finish.
Buongiorno and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 7 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.