The Giro d’Italia returned to a certain calm on Thursday heading towards Viadana. In a twelfth stage for sprinters, the scenario was quite clear, and Olav Kooij indeed claimed victory from a bunch finish. Clément Davy (22nd) and Enzo Paleni (24th) were the first riders from Groupama-FDJ to reach the finish line. A slightly hillier final is coming up tomorrow in Vicenza.
Despite some nice hills in the first half of the course, there was no doubt that stage 12 of the Giro would be decided between the sprinters on Thursday. As a consequence, the number of riders aiming to enter the breakaway at the start of Modena was much lower than the day before. Only three men indeed took the lead quite early on, without ever having any hope of a successful outcome to their attempt. This is also why Stéphane Goubert’s men did not join the fight this time. “The breakaway wasn’t big enough and the hopes of success were almost nonexistent, so it wasn’t worth wasting energy on it,” explained the French sports director.
The last man standing of the breakaway, Andrea Pietrobon, was caught more than twenty-five kilometres from the finish, and the sprint gradually set up around Viadana. Clément Davy and Enzo Paleni followed the first part of the bunch in the final moments, allowing them to take 22nd and 24th places respectively. “The tension was still quite present throughout the stage due to the wind, but the riders were able to enjoy a relatively calm day ahead of the next goals and stages better suited to their qualities,” concluded Stéphane. On Friday, six small climbs will feature in the last sixty kilometres, and the finish line will be located at the summit of one of them (800m at 7.6%) in Vicenza.
