Giro stage 12: Centurion Cav

Stage 12: Longarone to Treviso, 134km

Mark Cavendish withstood torrential rain to take a convincing victory in Treviso on the shortest road stage (134km) of this year’s Giro. It was his third victory and his 100th in total as a pro. His Omega Pharma-Quick Step team sat on the front of the peloton all day as Gert Steegmans reeled in the last remnants of the day’s five-man break with just 350 metres to go, then dropped him off in pole position at the 200-metre board. Game over, as Cav won handily by 1½ bike lengths. Continue reading

AntBanter: Seeing the race live

With both Kitty and Sheree making visits to the Giro this week, I’ve taken to quelling my jealousy with thoughts of live races I’ve been to myself and thoughts of races yet to come. Whilst I’m something of an amateur spectator, you could say that Kitty and Sheree move in more elite circles, and take to such ventures in a far more expert and experienced fashion, so I thought I’d see what tales they may have to tell.

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Giro stage 12 preview

Stage 12: Longarone to Treviso, 134km, flat

The peloton will be letting out a collective sigh of relief as this is a short stage that has a few little climbs but is mostly flat or descending. That said, this is the Giro so there are a few 14%-plus gradients to remind the riders that it ain’t all freewheelin’ today and sprint teams might make a point of trying to drop Mark Cavendish on these sections, but these climbs are short enough and early enough that anyone who is dropped should be able to get back on without too much trouble.

The final 7.5km is a circuit around Treviso. The last kilometre is dead straight aside from a right-left kink over a bridge at 350 metres – just as the sprinters will be preparing to ignite the turbos. We might see some shoulder and helmet-rubbing if things are tight. Continue reading