The twelfth stage of the Giro took the peloton over a hilly start in Bra near Turin, through a flatter middle section into a tough finale around Rivoli. The leading group was very competitive today and after more than one hour of racing, 30 riders were able to break away from the peloton. BORA - hansgrohe was represented in this group by Patrick Konrad and Nico Denz. After the first intermediate sprint, Nico and three other riders managed to break away from the rest of the escapees and at the foot of the Colle Braida climb, the quartet had a lead of 2:30 minutes over the first chasing group. Nico had to fight hard on the climb, but was able to keep contact with the group, while one rider had to let go. A first attack by Nico at 10 km before the finish was unsuccessful, but the German nevertheless proved to be the strongest of the group in the sprint. From the front, Nico attacked over 200m ahead of the finish line and took a spectacular victory in Rivoli.
Result
01 N. Denz 4:18:11
02 T. Skujins +0:00
03 S. Berwick +0:03
From the Finish Line
"This is a very big win for me, and I'm super proud to have taken a stage in the Giro d'Italia, it's unbelievable. When I made it into the break, there were such big names in the group, and I thought initially that it wouldn't be easy for me to make a move. But despite that, I knew that I had to do something. Eventually, the collaboration deteriorated in the group and a split appeared, and at that time, I was at the front. So we pushed and I then we managed to get a gap. On the last climb, I was really on my limit, and I barely made it over the top. But once I got through it, I knew that there was a little kicker coming up, and that I had to attack there. I tried that, but our group came back together again. But I still knew that I have quite a fast finish, and in the end, that's what got me the win. I'm absolutely over the moon right now, it's amazing." - Nico Denz
"The plan was actually for Bob and Koni to go into the breakaway, but Bob said that he didn't have the best legs today and he wanted to save his energy to assist Lenni tomorrow. So we saw an opportunity for Nico to try his luck in the breakaway. It ended up being a large group, and we had two guys in there. When the group split, Nico took advantage of it. After he made it over the climb with his breakaway companions, we were really hoping that he would be able to win the stage. In the end he proved himself to be the strongest. He really deserves this victory, because he always works very hard for his leaders. This victory also comes at a very important moment and gives us a lot of motivation ahead of the big mountain stage tomorrow." - Enrico Gasparotto, Sports Director