The prestigious cyclamen jersey remains on the shoulders of Paul Magnier.
Novi Ligure, the town where Fausto Coppi - one of the sport’s greatest riders, double World Champion and a five-time winner of Il Giro - began cycling as a delivery boy, got to host the finish of stage 12. In theory, it was a day for the sprinters, although the presence of two classified climbs in the last 70 kilometers was always going to complicate matters.
Soudal Quick-Step controlled the stage and the many attacks that came in the first part of the stage, but as soon as the road went up, other teams moved to the front of the peloton and began pushing a tempo that dislodged the sprinters. Gianmarco Garofoli and Filippo Zana did their best to help maglia ciclamino Paul Magnier limit the damage on those steep slopes, but the Frenchman still crested the last of the ascents with a one-minute deficit.
Despite hitting a long descent just a couple of kilometers later, it became mission impossible for Paul and the other fast men as the bunch kept the speed high. The win went to Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) after a solo move in the closing kilometers, while Jasper Stuyven brought a top ten for the Wolfpack after finishing in fifth place from a reduced peloton. His teammate Paul Magnier continues to lead the points standings, and on Friday he will don the cyclamen jersey for the 12th day in a row.
I’m happy to still have the jersey after this hard stage.
“The pace was really high on the climb and I almost made it, but couldn’t come back despite a solid effort there. On the long downhill we were still hoping to bridge across, but it wasn’t possible. My gap in the classification has been cut to just 11 points, but I remain confident in my chances and will continue fighting for this jersey”, Paul explained after the podium ceremony.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
