Giro D Italia 2026 – Stage 12

Imperia → Novi Ligure | 175.0 km | hilly

A lumpy day through Ligurian backroads will tempt opportunists to ambush the sprinters’ teams long before Novi Ligure. The rolling terrain and the late kick of Pasturana (0.6 km at 7.2% with 8 km to go) could sap the pure fast men, setting up a tense chase between breakaway specialists and reduced-bunch finishers.

Previous Stage Recap

Stage 11 from Porcari’s Paper District to Chiavari turned into exactly the ambush terrain everyone had anticipated. Over 195 hilly kilometres and nearly all the climbing stacked in the back half, the early break established itself as the winning move. From that group, Jhonatan Narváez and Enric Mas emerged as the strongest on the final ascent before plunging toward the Ligurian coast. Mas did much of the pace-setting into Chiavari, but in the two-up sprint the Ecuadorian from UAE Team Emirates XRG proved clearly faster, sealing his third stage win of this Giro.

Behind the leading duo, Diego Ulissi brought home the remnants of the move for third, ahead of Chris Harper and Aleksandr Vlasov, with Christian Scaroni, Ludovico Crescioli and Simone Gualdi also capitalising on the aggressive scenario. The day was costly too: stage 6 winner Davide Ballerini crashed out, while Lennert Van Eetvelt hit the deck hard in a high-speed downhill corner some 40 kilometres from the finish, reshaping the finale. The GC riders largely marked each other, but Narváez’s success tightened the battle in the points classification and kept attacking riding very much in style ahead of the flatter test to Novi Ligure.

The Route

From the Ligurian coast in Imperia, the race will ease inland on rolling roads that will let a breakaway establish itself without too much drama. The opening hills will lift the bunch away from the sea before a long, gentle downward trend carries the riders back toward flatter ground around mid‑stage. This middle portion will feel relatively controlled, a chance for sprint teams and all‑round squads to measure the gap and keep their options open before the real work begins in the second half.

After the feed-zone calm, the road will rise in earnest onto a broad plateau of undulating terrain, where the climbing will be more about rhythm than raw gradients but will add up in the legs. A succession of drags and descents will gradually sap the peloton before the profile tips down again toward Novi Ligure. In the closing kilometres the course will still refuse to settle, with short rises and that sting in the tail at Pasturana – 0.6 km at 7.2% – offering a springboard for late attacks and a test for the pure sprinters.

From the top of Pasturana the run‑in will be fast and slightly lumpy rather than straightforward, demanding punch, positioning and a strong lead‑out rather than sheer top speed alone. A reduced sprint from a thinned peloton will be a likely outcome, favouring sprinters who climb well and puncheurs with a turn of speed, but the accumulated 2131 metres of climbing and that final kicker could just tempt the classics‑style attackers to gamble for glory.

Key Climbs:

• Pasturana — 0.6km at 7.2%, km 167

*7.6km from final summit to the finish.*

Weather

23°C | Sunny | 7 km/h NNW

How It Might Unfold

The opening half of the stage will invite a sizeable breakaway, with punchy rouleurs and classics-style climbers keen to get up the road before the route ramps inland. Sprinters’ teams will likely allow a controllable move some rope on the flatter middle section, then start reeling it in as the late obstacles loom. How much help the pure fast men will get from all‑round sprinters and puncheurs who fancy the uphill drag to Novi Ligure will largely determine whether the day tilts toward a reduced bunch or the escapees. GC squads will mostly ride defensively, aiming to stay out of trouble before the real intensity begins.

The sequence of rolling terrain before Pasturana will form the main selection, where puncheurs and versatile sprinters will try to distance the heavier fast men and whittle the peloton down. Pasturana itself, 0.6 km at 7.2% and so close to the line at kilometre 167, will be the natural launchpad for late attacks from explosive climbers and tired GC outsiders looking to exploit any hesitation behind. If the uphill tempo proves too steady for solo moves to stick, a small group sprint in Novi Ligure will become a likely outcome, favouring riders who can still kick after a day of repeated efforts. The finale will reward sharp positioning and brave timing more than raw top speed.

Contenders

For a reduced-bunch sprint, Paul Magnier will remain the reference: he could potentially handle the climbing load if not ridden too fast on the climbs and still finish very fast, though he might feel Narváez breathing down his neck in the points race. Corbin Strong, Ben Turner, Orluis Aular and Guillermo Silva Coussan will fit the same script – quick enough for a messy finale and light enough not to be emptied by the mid-stage climbing. For riders like Tobias Lund Andresen, Ethan Vernon, it will all depend on the pace of the bunch on the climbs.

If the race breaks earlier, riders like Alec Segaert, Jasper Stuyven, Toon Aerts, Magnus Sheffield, Antonio Morgado and Jhonatan Narváez will headline the puncheur-rouleur brigade looking to win from a strong move. Narváez will have the confidence and freedom of a rider already loaded with stage wins, while Stuyven will relish a hard, attritional run-in.

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Predictions

1. ⭐⭐⭐ Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan

2. ⭐⭐ Jasper Stuyven

3. ⭐⭐ Paul Magnier

4. ⭐⭐ Ben Turner

5. ⭐Jhonatan Narvaez

6. ⭐ Tobias Lund Andresen

7. ⭐ Corbin Strong

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Predicted Winner

Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan