Giro d'Italia 2019: Stage 12

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January 1 - June 2, Cuneo, Italy, Road - WorldTour

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Hello and welcome to live coverage from stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia. 

For the latest updates, please refresh your browser. 

Good morning. We're in Cuneo for the start of stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia. It's a wonderful place to visit and if you're interested in going, go online and check out the reviews on Tripadvisor. There are a few shouty and angry reviews left by a 'Piti' and 'Valv' in which he or she complains about constantly being woken up by knocks on the door and vowing never to visit again, but other than that they're really complimentary. 

And after a week and a half of sprints and breaks we're actually set for the mountains today. There's no summit finish but this is the first real climbing stage of the race (check out the profile at the top of the page).

The one major climb today is at Montoso. It's 8.8km in length and has an average gradient of 9.5 per cent. We're not going to hype things up and suggest that the race is going to blow up on the climb but given it's the first serious climb of the race we could see riders really struggle with the change in tempo. There is a long descent towards the finish, however, so as long as riders don't ship too much time they should be able to recover.

We are about 25 minutes until the official role out and riders are currently signing on ahead of the start. We'll look at the race standings shortly but the news this morning and last night has been sadly dominated by doping. Cyclingnews has learned that Milan Erzen - the MD at Bahrain Merida - is under investigation from the UCI for apparent links to the Aderlass case. He has denied any involvement. Here's the story from last night, and we'll have more on it in a few minutes. 

The other 'big' story involves Hour Record holders past and present seemingly arguing about how scientific Lotto Soudal are. There are apparently not enough marginal gains on the team according a former hour record holder. Here's that story.

Here's the GC heading into today's stage. I've gone all the way down to Simon Yates, who should be on the offensive today, if he has the legs and sees the opportunity to attack. Two big ifs given his ride in the stage 9 time trial but lets see.

And here's the mountains classification if that's of interest to you:

For a complete analysis of today's stage, why it was designed in this manner, and how it fits with the rest of the race, we have this excellent preview. Click here.

Simon Yates, he spoke last night and this is what the 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner had to say:

If Yates has another bad day then surely his GC bid is over. It's hanging by a thread at the moment but if stage 9 was an off day, then he at least has the terrain to mount a comeback. The problem is that Roglic so far looks unbeatable. That's partly down to form, partly down to the route we've had so far, and partly because all of his rivals have dropped time at one point or another. 

We are officially racing on stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia.

Here's the full story with Yates' comments from last night.

It's rolling terrain until we get to Montoso but remember we have 30km of descent and flat between the summit of the climb and the finish. It will be interesting to see which team takes up the pace setting on the climb. Bahrain Merida and Mitchelton will be looking to test Roglic, and certainly his squad, but what will be gained by trying to isolate the Jumbo Visma rider with so many important stages to come?

Astana are certainly going to try and do something on the climb. With Lopez having a poor TT on stage 9 the pure climber will be itching to make a move on the only major climb of the day.

And we have our first series of attacks on the stage with De Gendt and Dunbar going clear. There are a few counter attacks at the moment but leading pair have 18 seconds on the peloton. Dunbar is certainly going with the right move in following a rider like De Gendt.

143km remaining from 156km

De Gendt takes a swig from his bottle. He knows that the main group are about to catch him and Dunbar. More and more attacks and there's no control from UAE Team Emirates. Okay, now we have about 20 odd riders in the first group with 142km to go. 

Every rider at the front of the peloton is on the radio, asking who is in the break, and asking what they should do. The break is huge. Dunne, De Gendt, Cataldo, Boara, Dunbar are all present. We'll have all the names shortly. This is the main break and they have 41 seconds with 140km to go.

Breaking news: Here's the latest on the UCI investigation, Erzen and links to the Aderlass investigation. 

Caruso is in the break by the way. That's a huge sign of intent from Bahrain Merida as he's a key ally for Nibali in the mountains. They obviously realise that this isnt the hardest mountain stage but that they can put their rivals under considerable pressure. They will not want to give Caruso too much time. The gap is at 1'30 with 138km to go.

Katusha have a rider in the break and he's really keen on pushing the gap to the bunch as much as possible. It's now over two minutes. There are a few passengers along for the ride and Katusha want them out the back as quickly as possible. 

Polanc is also in the break, and it looks as though UAE are  turning their attention away from the maglia rosa and towards a possible stage win. I think Conti could survive the day in the pink jersey but we'll have to see.  His team will not chase the break though, because with a man up the road they have a pass.

Here's the full list of riders in the break, which has been put together by the kind people at the Giro d'Italia:

130km remaining from 156km

Süterlin is a real powerhorse and he's driving the break along. The German is on the transfer market and a number of teams are looking at him.

Polanc is one of the most dangerous riders up the road in terms of the GC, so UAE aren't obliged to chase to be honest. They could realistically look to Visma and Mitchelton who do not have riders up the road, and have designs on the maglia rosa. 

The gap continues to grow and it's at 5 minutes with 124km to go. 

UAE in discussion at the front of the race, and they still seem to be deciding on their strategy. The gap, meanwhile, has gone out to 5'46. 

Here's the corrected list of riders, again provided by the Giro site:

Polanc was 11th on GC in the Giro two years ago and he's no slouch in the mountains. With no Aru here the team are looking to express themselves in other ways. You can't knock their Giro d'Italia so far and Polanc, who has also won two stages in the race, is a real danger for the win today and could really put himself in a good position on GC.

Almost seven minutes now so Polanc is the leader on the road. UAE are still on the front but they're letting the gap go out all the time.

109km remaining from 156km

Dunbar and Knees move up together and the Irish rider will benefit massively from having the German alongside him. This is Dunbar's first Grand Tour and he got the nod after Bernal was ruled out last month. A strong ride in the Tour de Yorkshire helped, and Dunbar is a possible contender for the stage win.

Movistar have awoken and they've moved up in the bunch to sit neatly behind the UAE train. Landa is close to seven minutes down on GC but the Spanish also have Richard Carapaz in their ranks, and he has already won a stage and  is well clear of Landa in the overall classification. So, Landa is in a similar position to Yates - one more bad day and his overall ambitions will be all but over.

Remember, you can find our complete Giro d'Italia coverage on this wonderful hub page. It's got a startlist, links to major stories, video highlights, the works.

99km to go and the gap is up to 11'25.

The gap is up to twelve minutes as we see Yates move to the back of field after briefly dropping back to the team car.

Here's a complete list of the riders in the break:

90km remaining from 156km

The gap continues to grow out at a rapid speed. With UAE still controlling the front of the bunch, the advantage is now 14:17 and is going up as the kilometres tick down. 

At the moment, Polanc is in line to take the maglia rosa from his teammate Conti. However, there are a number of riders who would fancy themselves for the stage win, such as Dunbar, Cataldo, Brambilla and De Gendt to name a few. 

The finish town of Pinerolo will be familiar to fans of the Giro d'Italia. It last featured in the 2016, where it was a finish and start town. Matteo Trentin took the victory when stage 18 concluded there. A dramatic day would ensue when the race left from there the following day with Steven Kruijswijk crashed into a wall of snow while in pink, leaving the door open for Vincenzo Nibali to win the overall. 

Teams will need to start thinking about chasing soon if they're to curtain Polanc's current advantage. With 71km to go the gap is up to  15'35

And with 68km to go Bahrain Merida have blinked first  and put a man on the front to hold the gap at 15'30. That's surely the maximum lead that we'll see today but we should expect a more concerted effort to reduce the gap even before we reach the main climb of the day.

And Jumbo Visma commit to the chase and they've put a rider on the front of the peloton too. The gap slowly starts to drop, and it's at 15'20.

65km remaining from 156km

The GC coming into today's stage: 

 

The break is still working well together and they're holding the chase at bay for now. The gap ticks down to 14'03 with 59km to go.

Sean Bennett has attacked the break with 59km to go.

As back in the bunch Mollema puts his Trek team to work and a few more seconds are taken of the break's lead.

Bennett wants a gap before the climb starts so he can ease into the slopes and he now has company from Haller. 

Tight, narrow roads at the moment and that will suit the riders on the attack before he head towards the climb of the day. We have about 15km to go until the Montoso.

The two leaders have 26 seconds over the break, with the peloton way back at 13'19 but Visma have posted two more men on the front of the peloton.

50km remaining from 156km

35 seconds for Bennett and Haller but the road is already on a gentle rise even with the climb still some way off.

And now there's more intensity from the peloton as they reach a small rise. That takes another 15 seconds off the lead. 

Just a few kilometers from the start of the first major climb of this year's Giro and the leading pair are losing time on the De Gendt break. The gap to the peloton is at 12'47 with 42km to go.

We are just 1km from the first major climb of this year's Giro d'Italia.

39km remaining from 156km

Bennett and Haller still have 30 seconds on the climb but they won't survive because there are too many strong climbers in the main break. The bunch still at 12'24. 

And De Gendt lifts the pace with 38km to go. Who can follow?

Everyone for now but a number of riders are on the limit.

And now Caruso lifts the pace and De Gendt wisely slips back. The Bahrain Merida rider strings the entire break out. There are gaps all over the road. 

And just like that the leading pair have been caught.

Both Dimension Data riders have been dropped almost immediately due to the pace from Caruso, who has Polanc on his wheel. Then a line of riders who are just hanging on. Dunbar is there. Bennett is dropped. 

Cataldo is there as well and Brambilla hits the front. Haller is the latest rider to slip off the back. And De Gendt is struggling too.

Caruso, Polanc and Caruso look the most comfortable from what's left of the break. 

Movistar now hit the front of the peloton. 12 minutes is the gap.

Brambilla is back  on the front of the break but were down to six riders. Dunbar, Caruso, Polanc are there.

Now Visma hit the front at the foot of the climb for the peloton. All the  GC threats are well placed. 

36km remaining from 156km

Caruso is leading the chase from a group of five that contains Cataldo and Polanc.

The two leaders have just a couple of seconds but Caruso is bringing it all back together.

And now Brambilla takes off and again Capecchi goes with the move. 

Miguel Angel Lopez is at the back of the bunch and with his teammates...

So the leading six are Capecchi, Dunbar, Brambilla, Polanc, Cataldo, and Caruso  with 35km to go.

Peters, who was in white has been dropped by the bunch.

Hirt has attacked from the peloton with 34km to go. The gap to the break is still at 11'22.

Interesting attack as Lopez was at the back a minute ago.

The break have now hit the hardest sections of the climb and Polanc raises the pace once more. 34km to go.

The break are just 2km from the top and they've settled into a decent pace without too many accelerations. Back in the bunch and the pace is steady but not much more than that as the gap to the break goes back out to 11'37.

Lopez attacks. He was at the back but now he's gone after his teammate Hirt. 33km to go.

He makes contact with his teammate, who gives him a big turn and Carapaz comes over with Majka and Nibali. This is a major move. 33km to go.

Visma react right away and it's Roglic doing the work. That's incredible. Roglic chases aloe and then Mitchelton make it over. 

Hirt leads the way with Lopez on his wheel and then the GC riders. Roglic already on his own, after one attack. and Conti has now been dropped.

And now Landa with a huge attack. 33km to go.

That's a really strong move and Lopez goes again with Hirt. 

Is Roglic going to mark every single attack?

Lopez is making his way to Landa as up the road the break of six approach the summit of the climb.

Landa isn't waiting for Lopez but the pair have a big gap on the Roglic group.

It looks like Roglic has let this move go.

32km remaining from 156km

The leaders crest the top of the climb and Brambilla barks orders after taking the points at the summit. The gap is 11'23.

The GC group are watching each other but they're without Jungels who has been dropped and is in the Conti group. 

Trek are leading the Roglic group at the moment. Formolo is missing too. The rest of the top ten contenders are all there.Sivakov is there for Ineos.

The four leaders are tearing down the descent with 26km to go. Back on the climb and the Roglic group is down to about 20 riders. Yates has a couple of teammates, Nibali has one but Roglic is on his own.

Landa and Lopez are still clear but we've not seen a time gap for them yet.

Benedetti has joined the leaders, so that's five up front but no sign of Polanc coming back yet.

Landa and Lopez are together and working but still no gap between them and the Roglic group, which is still lead by Trek. Conti and Jungels are a minute down.

Majka lifts the pace towards the top of the climb.

There are groups all over the road as we descent towards the finish for today's stage.

21km remaining from 156km

Nibali, Sivakov and Majka create a small gap and Yates' team have to close it.

We've not mentioned Zakarin but he's there and they've just picked up Haller. 

There are about a dozen riders in the Nibali/Roglic group but they are 10'43 down on the current stage leaders.

Montaguti and Cataldo are back with the leaders. 19km to go.

Landa and Lopez have picked up some riders but Majka is clear on the descent. 

At this rate Polanc will be the new leader of the race, and will have a considerable lead on GC. Majka and Roglic are chatting at the back of the GC group.

Still no time gap for the Landa/Lopez break with 13km to go.

EF still have two riders in the Roglic group, with Kangert and Carthy  both present. Yates has Chaves with him and we see Sutterlin and Boara link up with Landa and Lopez. That's a really powerful four-man time trial.

Conti is in a group with Jungels and Formolo. 

Landa and Lopez have about 15 seconds. 

Roglic is refusing to work in the group. 

They're messing around in the Roglic group, who now goes back to the team car, as Chaves leads the way for Yates. 

That messing around has given Lopez and Landa a few more seconds.

Majka moves away with Kangert and that needs closing. 

Meanwhile the leaders on the road are working well together. 

Roglic needs to take turns here, they don't need to be huge but he needs to come through as it's breaking up the harmony. Yates has two men in the group and he puts them both on the front. He's had enough of these games.

The Roglic group swells with Mollema and a batch of other riders who were dropped on the descent come back.

Landa and Lopez have 40 seconds on the GC group. Knees knows what he's doing he he now leads the group for Sivakov.

5km remaining from 156km

Brambilla was close to a win in Pinerolo before. Can he finish the job today?

Sutterlin has dropped back so it's Boaro, Lopez and Landa as the leaders hit the final little climb before the finish.

Benedetti leads but here comes Brambilla. He hits the front and once more Cappechi follow. Huge acceleration. 

These two are clear. 2km to go.

It looks like Dunbar is chasing the gap is already there. Brambilla grinds up the climb. Dunbar was caught too far back when the attack came but he's slowly coming back into contention.

Dunbar makes contact so we have three at the front of the race with 1.7km to go.

It's hard to pick a sprinter from these three. 

Cappechi leads. Now it's Brambilla.

1km remaining from 156km

Cappechi ieads out.

And Caruso and Benedetti are there. Five leaders 300 to go!

Brambilla goes.

He's gone too soon.

Benedetti powers to the line. He's never won a pro race.

Cesare Benedetti takes the stage win. Dunbar is second and Caruso is third.

Here comes Polanc. He will take the maglia rosa.

Here's our brief report, results and photos from the stage.

There's another race going on here as the GC riders approach the little climb before the finish. Landa and Lopez are almost at the top of the summit.

Mollema takes over at the front of the GC group. No attacks yet. 

Landa and Lopez have used energy today but they've ridden well and used their teammates well. Majka is leading the chase about 20 seconds back.

Landa and Lopez approach the finish together. 7'34 down on the winners. They take around 30 seconds off the Roglic group. Zakarin was dropped in the closing stages. 

The Conti, Jungels and Formolo group are not at the finish yet. The UAE rider was expected to lose time but not Formolo or Jungels. 

Here are the top ten for the stage:

Benedetti, had never won a pro race but at the age of 31 he's picked up a Giro d'Italia stage win. He was dropped on the main climb but came back on the descent and deserved his win thanks to his sprint. Brambilla went far too early and basically ruled himself out of contention while Caruso and Dunbar followed Benedetti but didn't have the raw speed to come around the Bora rider.

In GC Polanc leads Roglic by 4'07. 

And here is your GC after stage 12. Who would have expected this at the beginning of the race:

Eddie Dunbar:


" I'm a bit disappointed really, I wasn't the quickest but I was certainly one of the strongest. At the finish I had [Gianluca] Brambilla and Eros [Capecchi] there and I knew them being Italian they'd be a bit more keen to get to the finish than me so I gambled a bit and then got caught by the two guys behind but that's bike racing I guess. You live and learn.

Jan Polanc:

"It's always a dream to wear the pink jersey. For me after two stage wins at the Giro I think this was a dream for us.

Here are our finish line quotes from today's stage.

1 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:41:49
2 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:00
3 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos 0:00:00
4 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:02
5 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:06
6 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:25
7 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:34
8 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:02:36
9 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:02:36
10 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:02:38

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