The first part of the 12th stage between Alleghe and Rovereto was dreaded by some, with the steep Passo San Pellegrino after 26, but it turned out to be a very relaxed pace up the climb and for the rest of the stage. As usual, Selle Italia went on the attack with Jose Rujano winning the mountain sprint, then Philippe Schnyder getting a gap with just over 100 km to go. But the sprinters teams flexed their muscles and brought the Swiss rider back with 30 km to go for a fairly regulation bunch sprint.
For the second time, Alessandro Petacchi got it right and won the stage very convincingly from Paride Grillo (Panaria), who tried to get the jump on the Fassa Bortolo man with 250m to go. But Petacchi grabbed his wheel and left him in his wake as he crossed the line with two bike lengths to spare.
