Stage 12

The road

At the start

Five climbs on the way to the sea

Joaquim Rodríguez keeps the maglia rosa by seventeen seconds from Ryder Hesjedal after Roberto Ferrari won a chaotic sprint in Montecatini, and Mark Cavendish has taken the points jersey off Matt Goss. Today is short and lumpy — a hundred and fifty-five kilometres from Seravezza to Sestri Levante over five categorised climbs. The kind of day the general classification lets go and a breakaway takes.

How it was won

1. 162 km to go

   Golas throws himself down the Guaitarola

   Michał Gołaś takes the points at the top and keeps going, throwing himself down a technical descent, clipping kerbs, nearly running off the road twice. His own breakaway companions refuse to let him have it and chase him furiously.

2. 210 km to go

   Villa Tassani hands pink back

   Gołaś is caught two kilometres from the summit. Casar takes the points, Amador jumps, and as the group flies down the far side the gap to the bunch dips under four minutes — which hands the maglia rosa back to Rodríguez on the road.

3. 31 km to go

   Bak goes at 1500 metres

   Six riders on the flat run into Sestri Levante, all of them out of ideas. Lars Ytting Bak attacks with just over a kilometre and a half left and none of the others reacts in time; a Danish time triallist given a hundred metres is not a problem you solve late.

4. 4At the line

   Eleven seconds, and time to celebrate

   Bak crosses with room to sit up and enjoy it; Casar edges Amador for second eleven seconds down. Then the wait — and Rodríguez comes in 3:34 back, which keeps him in pink by a whisker.

The result