Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 12 preview | From Milan-Sanremo terrain to a tricky finish

The Giro d’Italia heads to the mid-section of the race along the Italian coast. On Thursday, 21 May, the riders will cover part of the Milan-Sanremo terrain before venturing into the slightly hillier inland stretches. In this preview, IDL Procycling highlights the route, conditions, and key favorites for the stage.

We start Thursday in Imperia. This town is familiar from Milan-Sanremo, located near the Cipressa. Earlier this year, Imperia witnessed crashes for Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Wout van Aert during La Primavera. All three remounted and finished near the front, though many spectators were left shocked.

From Imperia, the Giro caravan heads inland, which here usually means climbing. The first fifteen kilometers are mostly gently uphill, a factor that can influence the formation of an especially strong breakaway. Riders with a good acceleration can find it easier to make a difference.

After a long descent, the riders return to the coastline and follow it for roughly sixty kilometers to Savona. Then comes Colle Giovo, an 11.4 km climb averaging 4.2%. After a short flat section, Bric Berton follows: 5.5 km at 5.9%, reaching 761 meters above sea level.

The stage does not return to the sea. After a 15 km descent, the route flattens onto a plateau leading to the finish in Novi Ligure. This plateau is 35 km long; apart from two minor hills (1.7 km at 3.9% and 700 m at 7.2%), it is mostly flat in the final phase.

The last 750 meters rise at 2.3%, making sprint timing crucial. Technically, Novi Ligure is straightforward, as the final three kilometers are almost entirely on the same road.

Times
Start: 1:05 p.m. CET (12:05 p.m. GMT| 07:05 a.m. ET)
Finish: around 5:14 p.m. CET (16:14 p.m. GMT | 11:14 a.m. ET)

Riders can expect sunshine all day with temperatures around 25°C. A light tailwind is present throughout, so conditions are favorable for fast racing.

We’ve had a stage like this once before in this Giro d’Italia, on day four heading toward Cosenza. Back then, everyone expected riders like Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) to shine, but Movistar pushed the pace hard for Orluis Aular, and the victory ultimately went to Jhonatan Narvaez of UAE Emirates-XRG.

Back then, however, we had a 14.4-kilometer climb at 5.9 percent, whereas now it’s spread across two climbs: 11.4 kilometers at 4.2 percent and 5.5 kilometers at 5.9 percent. The distance to the finish after the final summit is roughly the same, and in both stages we also saw some elevation gain on gradients that weren’t too steep.

All in all, the climb is a bit less steep and shorter, which, on paper, improves Lund Andresen’s chances of making it through. The truly fast riders like Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step, who is climbing well in this Giro), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL Raisin), and Ethan Vernon (NSN) will likely have to hope for mercy from the peloton.

In that case, we’d be more likely to look to Aular and certainly Corbin Strong, who hasn’t had much success with his NSN team in this Giro and might find a perfect opportunity. Also, Jasper Stuyven, Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Soudal Quick-Step), Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious), Christian Scaroni, and Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS-Astana) have—depending on the scenario—fast legs after a tough race. From an early breakaway, you can also expect sprinters like Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X) and Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost).

At Netcompany INEOS, they have Ben Turner, who was brought in for the Cosenza stage to support Egan Bernal, as well as Filippo Ganna. We expect the latter to head to his hometown of Verbania earlier on Friday, so for Thursday we’re leaning toward Turner. The Brit has also mentioned that he has his sights set on this stage.

The biggest threat, however, could well come from UAE Emirates-XRG, which has riders like Antonio Morgado, Jan Christen, and especially Narváez—men who can go for the win in any scenario. A breakaway, a tough sprint, a late attack, or, in the case of Narváez, who is in top form, even a sprint with a fairly large group: mark them down.

Top favorites: Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG)