Alec Segaert, 23, claimed victory in stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia, a 175 km race from Imperia to Novi Ligure, with a late attack 3 km from the finish on May 21 [1, 2]. Riding for Bahrain-Victorious, Segaert timed his move perfectly, saying, "I would say yesterday evening. I had it always in mind, I was really happy with how the race was going, a hard pace on the climb and then teammates of the sprinters who were left had to ride hard and this was my chance to go in the final when they were all on the limit" [1, 2]. He finished the stage in 3 hours, 53 minutes [1].
Toon Aerts finished second in the stage, and Thomas Silva took third place, trailing Segaert [1, 2]. The key sprinters Jonathan Milan and Paul Magnier were dropped on the final climb, Bric Berton, allowing breakaway riders to succeed [1, 2]. Movistar put in a strong climbing effort, enabling their sprinter Orluis Aular to secure sixth place after the sprinters were left behind [2].
Segaert's Bahrain-Victorious teammate Afonso Eulalio extended his overall Giro lead to 33 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard after stage 12 [1, 2]. The top three in the general classification were Eulalio first, Vingegaard second at +33 seconds, and Thymen Arensman third at +2 minutes 3 seconds [1].
Stage 13 is scheduled for May 22, running 189 km from Alessandria to Verbania [2].
