18 May 2023
Team control pace on stage 12
Related riders
Geraint Thomas
Giro d'Italia - Stage 12 » Bra › Rivoli, 185km
The INEOS Grenadiers rode well and protected race leader Geraint Thomas to ensure another day in the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia.
The team controlled the tempo of the peloton on stage 12 on a more straightforward day, despite intermittent rain and a tough final climb.
Thomas crossed the line surrounded by his teammates to retain a two-second overall lead as the Grand Tour continues into its second half.
As expected the stage played into the hands of the breakaway, with Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) prevailing from a group in excess of 30 riders up the road.
Pavel Sivakov rebounded well from his crash on Wednesday and led the team over the line, 8:19 back, with no riders in the move a threat to the GC.
Thymen Arensman and Laurens De Plus remain eighth and ninth overall, with the race returning to the high mountains and Swiss soil on Friday.
The team controlled the tempo of the peloton on stage 12 on a more straightforward day, despite intermittent rain and a tough final climb.
Thomas crossed the line surrounded by his teammates to retain a two-second overall lead as the Grand Tour continues into its second half.
As expected the stage played into the hands of the breakaway, with Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) prevailing from a group in excess of 30 riders up the road.
Pavel Sivakov rebounded well from his crash on Wednesday and led the team over the line, 8:19 back, with no riders in the move a threat to the GC.
Thymen Arensman and Laurens De Plus remain eighth and ninth overall, with the race returning to the high mountains and Swiss soil on Friday.
Reaction
- Geraint Thomas
"Obviously a lot more straightforward compared to yesterday with how the race went. It was a solid day and a tough start but the boys did really well to control it and have the right break that we wanted, with no one on GC. We weren't bothered about how big it was and we knew a big break always struggles to work well together anyway.
"The boys rode on the front all the way and it sets us up nicely for tomorrow. It was a great sign to see [Pavel riding]. He rode on the front from the bottom of the climb all the way to the finish. It must have been close to 40km. He's certainly looking alright. He's a battler and a tough guy so it's great to have him still riding well in the team.
"It definitely changes how we race. When we had myself and [Tao] up there it gave us two good options. Obviously he's not here anymore. it's a blow to the team and obviously he was going really well. We've still got a good strong unit here. We've had great morale from the start of the year and hopefully we can continue that."
- Geraint Thomas
"Obviously a lot more straightforward compared to yesterday with how the race went. It was a solid day and a tough start but the boys did really well to control it and have the right break that we wanted, with no one on GC. We weren't bothered about how big it was and we knew a big break always struggles to work well together anyway.
"The boys rode on the front all the way and it sets us up nicely for tomorrow. It was a great sign to see [Pavel riding]. He rode on the front from the bottom of the climb all the way to the finish. It must have been close to 40km. He's certainly looking alright. He's a battler and a tough guy so it's great to have him still riding well in the team.
"It definitely changes how we race. When we had myself and [Tao] up there it gave us two good options. Obviously he's not here anymore. it's a blow to the team and obviously he was going really well. We've still got a good strong unit here. We've had great morale from the start of the year and hopefully we can continue that."
