
It was a gruelling day for the riders at the Giro d' Italia today, and a pretty inauspicious one for the Manx riders taking part - Peter Kennaugh and Mark Cavendish.
Stage nine culminated in a long climb up the still-active volcano Mount Etna.
Alberto Contador took the stage and the pink jersey, which he won at the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
Kennaugh was 110th, 23 minutes 46 seconds behind Contador, with Cavendish almost a further three minutes behind in 189th and last place.

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