Giro d’Italia: Stefano Oldani goes the distance to claim stage 12 victory
Stefano Oldani claimed a maiden race victory on home soil in a sprint finish ahead of his compatriot Lorenzo Rota on stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia.
The longest stage of this year’s event, over 204km from Parma through the Apennines and on to to Genova, always looked set for a breakaway, which resulted in a trio kicking for home.
The initial group of 25 riders was eventually whittled down at the summit of La Colletta, the second categorised climb of the day. Then, with around 1km to go, the Dutchman Gijs Leemreize made his move, but the Jumbo-Visma rider was soon reeled back in. Oldani swiftly timed his own attack to perfection to fend off a late charge from Rota (Intermarché-Wanty) and deliver Italy’s second home victory in two days, after Alberto Dainese’s triumph.
Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo) finished in the peloton just over nine minutes back, which means the Spaniard retained the maglia rosa leader’s jersey once again in the general classification standings.
Oldani’s win was a second of the race for the Alpecin-Fenix team. “It was not easy. I knew Rota, my friend, was also fast so I had to watch out,” the 24-year-old told Eurosport. “[Leemreize] also looked like he wanted to anticipate, so it was not easy to manage, but in the end I did it.”
The Australian Caleb Ewan did not start the stage. His Lotto Soudal team announced the sprinter’s withdrawal to turn his focus towards the Tour de France.
In the general classification standings, López sits 12 seconds ahead of the Colombian Richard Carapaz and João Almeida of Portugal. Stage 13 on Friday will run over a flat 157km from Sanremo to Cuneo.