After three days in neighbouring Albania the Giro d’Italia has crossed the Adriatic Sea for the first stage on home soil.
The peloton had the first of three rest days on Monday so will be raring to go at the start line in Alberobello, which kicks off an almost entirely flat 189km to Lecce.
It’s the first real chance for the pure sprinters in the bunch after two hilly, punchy stages in Albania and Saturday’s time trial. Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen looks to be the one to beat, with two sprint victories already, and the Dane will be itching to secure a hat-trick and - most importantly - a first win in the race leaders’ pink jersey.
But his rival Wout van Aert may have something to say about that, as will his teammate Olav Kooij and another young starlet in 21-year-old French sprinter Paul Magnier.
Follow all the action with The Independent’s live blog:
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Intermediate sprint approaching (150km to go)
13:02
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Flo Clifford
Little bit more drama now as the intermediate sprint approaches, at Polignano a Mare.
Lidl-Trek are onto the front of the bunch now, aiming to protect Mads Pedersen’s healthy lead in the maglia ciclamino (points) classification.
Munoz will take the maximum 12 points as he’s still nearly four and a half minutes out front, and he soaks in the applause of a healthy crowd gathered along the roadside. This may not be the most thrilling stage but you wouldn’t know it from the enthusiasm of these locals.
KOM standings
12:57
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Flo Clifford
1. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) – 29 points
2. Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis) – 20 points
3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) – 12 points
4. Alessandro Tonelli (Polti VisitMalta) – 11 points
5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) – 9 points
It’ll be another day in blue for Fortunato tomorrow, with no more climbs on the menu today.
Munoz takes KOM points (170km to go)
12:38
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Flo Clifford
It’s a very short climb, only 0.9km at 6.1%, and with Munoz’s advantage up to nearly five minutes now he takes the maximum points.
There’s a bit of glancing around behind as the peloton approach the top, and Sylvain Moniquet launches a move to nab the remaining points.
The Belgian is absolutely flying and takes two, eating into Lorenzo Fortunato’s KOM lead, with the Astana XDS rider taking the remaining point.
Approaching the climb (174km to go)
12:29
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Flo Clifford
Just under a kilometre to go until the day’s only climb, a category four bump at Putignano.
Munoz is still alone out front and has an advantage of 3:20 over the bunch.
One rider up the road (186km to go)
12:15
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Flo Clifford
One lone attacker goes from the flag drop, Franciso Munoz of Polti VisitMalta, but no-one’s keen to go with him on a day when a breakaway feels pretty futile.
Lorenzo Fortunato, wearing the king of the mountains jersey, looks like he might be interested in nabbing the maximum three points on the day’s sole climb at Putignano... but he drops off too.
Flag drop
12:11
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Flo Clifford
A little over 4km of neutralised start done and the racing proper begins on the first day on Italian soil.
'First stage' of Giro for Kaden Groves
12:10
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Flo Clifford
“I'm really looking forward to it,” Kaden Groves tells TNT Sports at the start. “It feels like the first stage for us.
“I didn't have the legs in Albania, so missed both those reduced sprints, so I'm looking forward to getting things started today with a complete, normal bunch sprint.”
Rollout underway
12:02
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Flo Clifford
There’s a short neutralised rollout on a beautiful day in Alberobello and a little over 3km until the flag drop.
Route map and profile
12:00
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Flo Clifford
Today's contenders
11:55
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Flo Clifford
Many of the sprinters were distanced on the climbs on stages one and three, but today’s route profile is almost entirely horizontal and it’s set to be a proper bunch sprint today.
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) is one of the fastest men in the peloton and probably has the best dedicated leadout train, including Wout van Aert.
Soudal Quick-Step have a serious contender in French sprinter Paul Magnier, supported by Britain’s Ethan Hayter.
Aussie Kaden Groves, Irishman Sam Bennett, and Venezuelan cyclist Orluis Aular - the latter with two third places to his name already in this race - are also likely to be in the mix.
Last time out
11:50
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Flo Clifford
Mads Pedersen outsprinted Corbin Strong to win stage three of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday and double up on sprint victories after he claimed the opening stage of the race on Friday.
The Dane's second win of this year’s race also saw him take back the overall leader's jersey from Primoz Roglic courtesy of the 10 bonus seconds on offer for the winner, having started the day one second behind the Slovenian.
The Lidl-Trek rider took to the front in the sprint finish and held off New Zealander Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) by half a wheel, with Venezuela's Orluis Aular (Movistar) finishing third, as he did in stage one.
General classification after stage three
11:45
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Flo Clifford
1) Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), in 7:42:10
2) Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +9”
3) Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) +14”
4) Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +21”
5) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +25”
6) Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +26”
7) Max Poole (Team Picnic PostNL)+33”
8) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +34”
9) Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +36”
10) Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +40”
Giro d'Italia standings
11:40
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Flo Clifford
Mads Pedersen ceded pink to Primoz Roglic after stage two’s time trial but was resplendent in the Giro d’Italia leader’s jersey once more after winning stage three to double up on sprint victories.
The Lidl-Trek rider became the first Dane to wear pink to victory on stage one in Albania and took the honours at the end of a 160km run to Vlore on Sunday.
His win took him ahead of Roglic in the general classification by nine seconds thanks to the ten seconds available on the line, having started the day one behind. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider missed out on the stage win in Saturday’s 13.7km time trial - won by Ineos Grenadiers youngster Josh Tarling for his first Grand Tour stage victory - but did enough to take the overall lead.
How to watch
11:35
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Flo Clifford
Coverage is live now on TNT Sports and discovery+, with build-up to today’s action.
The stage is set to get underway at around 11.55am BST (12.55 CET) and should conclude by 4pm BST.
Stage four route
11:32
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Flo Clifford
A sprinter’s paradise today: just the one categorised climb, a cat 4 at Putignano inside the first 20km, followed by another 170km of jostling for position and an inevitably nervy run-in to Lecce.
Into the closing stages: the peloton will tackle a 12km loop of Lecce with one passage of the finish line, with one final proper corner just before the flamme rouge, before heading onto a 300m, eight-metre-wide finishing straight.
The battle for positioning into that last corner will be the key moment to watch; anyone who slips down the bunch will be out of contention.
Good morning
11:24
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Flo Clifford
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of stage four of the Giro d’Italia!
Following yesterday’s early rest day the action resumes today for the first stage on Italian soil, 189km from Alberobello to Lecce.