Kooij finally gets his Giro win! Dutchman takes the stage after perfect leadout from Van Aert in a tense sprint finish

After Wednesday’s fireworks, where Richard Carapaz took the stage win after a fierce battle on the Alpe San Pellegrino, the sprinters finally had something to look forward to again on Thursday. It had been a full week since they were last given a stage suited to their strengths. The 172 kilometers between Modena and Viadana weren’t entirely flat, but most of the challenges were packed into the early part of the route.

While recent stages saw a bit of a fight for the early breakaway, stage 12 was decided quickly. After a single acceleration, three riders went clear for a long day out front. All three were Italians: Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Andrea Pietrobon (Polti VisitMalta) and Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani). They set off on what looked like a hopeless mission, as the sprinters’ teams had clearly set their sights on a bunch finish.

A very calm phase followed, with Visma | Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Deceuninck controlling the pace and keeping the breakaway within reach. Up front, there was some battling for mountain and intermediate sprint points, while Mads Pedersen also made sure to stay involved. The wearer of the purple jersey picked up three uncontested points in the intermediate sprint, further strengthening his already solid lead in the points classification.

As the road continued to roll in the middle section of the stage, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale also moved to the front in support of Sam Bennett. The sprinters’ teams worked steadily to reel in the three Italians up the road. By the time the peloton reached the final climb of the day, the Borsea ascent with 79 kilometers to go, the gap had dropped to just under two minutes.

The breakaway riders crested the final climb with a lead of about a minute and a half, followed by a short descent and then a long, flat run of 70 kilometers toward the finish. For quite some time, not much happened in terms of action, though we did see Tarozzi, clearly suffering, still smiling and waving to familiar faces along the roadside.

Pedersen grabbed more points in the next intermediate sprint, and then there was a brief flash of drama. With 51 kilometers to go, Juan Ayuso suffered a puncture. UAE Team Emirates-XRG quickly provided him with a new bike, and he was able to rejoin the peloton shortly after.

With 37 kilometers remaining, Epis and Tarozzi were finally caught, though Pietrobon continued to resist. Hoping to earn the combativity prize of the day, he kept pressing on ahead of the charging bunch and was the first to cross the Red Bull Kilometer line. Behind him, Kim Heiduk (INEOS Grenadiers) kept the GC contenders in check, limiting bonus seconds. Isaac Del Toro followed close behind and picked up the final two bonus seconds available.

As the race entered the final 26.6 kilometer local lap, Pietrobon’s solo effort came to an end. The Italian was brought back by the peloton just as riders got their first look at the decisive final corner, located 450 meters from the line. That turn looked especially tight given it came right after a wide two-lane road, which added to the growing tension in the bunch. Pink jersey wearer Isaac Del Toro was also seen riding near the front for an extended time, seemingly protecting his teammate Ayuso.

In the technical finale, teams rotated quickly at the front of the peloton. The fight for position was intense, but most riders stayed upright, although just barely. One Polti VisitMalta rider did crash inside the final three kilometers. Visma | Lease a Bike hit the final corner first with Wout van Aert leading out Olav Kooij. Van Uden opened his sprint a bit earlier, but Kooij timed his move perfectly and came around to take his first Giro stage win. Van Uden finished second, with Turner in third and Pedersen taking fourth.