After yesterday it is Germany again at the top of the Giro: Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) has won the 12th stage. The German suffered on the climb in the final, then cunningly tried to release his 2 companions on the flat and finally won in the sprint. In the platoon, the weapons remained in their pockets.
The 12th stage of the Giro in a nutshell:
- Winner of the day: Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) was the strongest escapee today, but certainly not the best climber. On the Colle Braida it was hard as hell for the pelvic-twitching German, but his 2 fellow escapees just couldn’t get him off. 30 kilometers later, Denz was the fastest in the sprint.
- Loser of the day: Trek-Segafredo held the key in this transitional stage with 4 riders in the leading group. After a strange split, they pulled the card from Toms Skujins there, but in hindsight they should have done it differently.
- Morning: Armistice Day with the Classification Men today. They crossed the line in economy mode in Rivoli with a view to tomorrow’s stage. Then there is a 5 star ride planned in the Swiss Alps. There the ranking will be shuffled again.
Denz redeems breakaway chance, quiet day for the rankings
Too heavy for the sprinters and not difficult enough for the GC riders.
The ideal recipe for a refugee ride. The attackers had understood that: after a hellish half hour, a leading group of 30 riders formed.
With compatriots Ilan Van Wilder and Laurens Huys and beautiful names such as Pedersen, Matthews, Bettiol, Formolo, Kuss, Mollema and Konrad, there was enough beautiful people present.
Mads Pedersen had the company of 3 teammates, with the first goal to collect something in the fight for the purple jersey. Trek-Segafredo succeeded in that goal: Pedersen took the full spoils at the intermediate sprint.
In retrospect, the key moment of the stage followed at an unexpected moment.
There was a break after a roundabout where the large blocks in the leading group were represented. It did not go well with the pursuers, so that the 4 front runners were allowed to start the final climb with a large lead.
For Alessandro Tonelli it went too fast on the Colle Braida, Toms Skujins and Sebastian Berwick also tried to shake off Nico Denz.
It cost him blood, sweat and tears, but the German rounded the top together with his 2 flight companions. After a flatter final, Denz was clearly the fastest of the trio. He thus takes the best victory of his career.
Van Wilder sprinted in the background to 6th place, Huys finished just outside the top 10 in 11th.
In the peloton they crossed the line about five minutes later after a quiet day. Geraint Thomas will start tomorrow in the pink jersey on the mountain stage in the Swiss Alps.
Reaction Denz: “Not the plan to go in the breakaway”
Nico Denz tried to leave his fellow escapees behind in the final.
After a 2nd place in a Giro stage in 2018, it is now a prize for Nico Denz. The 29-year-old German takes his first stage victory in a Grand Tour.
“It was not at all the plan that I would go in the breakaway. We aimed for today Equestrian and Bob (Patrick Konrad and Bob Jungels, ed.).”
“Bob wasn’t feeling well and wanted to save himself for tomorrow. That’s how I got the green light to come along.”
A nice leading group of 30 riders formed in the early stages. “I only saw monsters around me, big names,” says Denz.
But it didn’t get along between all those clappers in the large leading group. “I was in the lead and suddenly we had a gap. We then drove full on.”
“On the last climb I was at my absolute limit. But I prepared myself and actually already had the ride in mind. On that bouncer I tried to go solo, but we came together again.”
In the sprint, Denz was able to finish against Skujins and Berwick. “I have a strong final shot and that saved me in the end. I am over the moon not.”
