Stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia leads riders north with the opening section along the Adriatic coastline from the start in Martinsicuro and 193km later will deliver the goods in Fano, which is ripe for a breakaway on Thursday. The first 50km are flat, and when the course veers inland at Fontespina, there are a series of unrelenting small climbs that build to the crescendo back on the coast.
The second day in the second week of the Italian Grand Tour has been compared to a route from the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico by race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who said the string of 10 short, very punchy late climbs reminded him of a day at the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico, one where Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) rode a solo breakaway to a spectacular victory.
Four of those 10 climbs are classified as category 4, and a final ascent of Monte Giove is unclassified but with 10 kilometres remaining to the finish it tilts skyward with gradients of 20%.
The sharp climb crests at the village of San Costanzo then descends east toward the Adriatic Sea. The 6km approach to the finish line in Fano will be a fast, flat finish.
“It’s going to be really crazy for getting in a break, I think, unless somebody in the bunch has other ideas. But I doubt it, this is stage 12 of the Giro. So everyone else will want their shot in the break and it will be a hard stage to control,” Pogačar said after finishing safely in the peloton on Wednesday to remain in the maglia rosa.
Stage 12 Sprints
- Intermediate sprint, km. 77.5
- Intergiro bonus sprint, km. 147.8
- Time bonus sprint, km. 161.4
Stage 12 Mountains
- Osimo (cat. 4), km. 93.2
- Monsano (cat. 4), km. 126.8
- Ostra (cat. 4), km. 138.4
- La Croce (cat. 4), km. 150.6
