The 2026 Giro d'Italia has been centered around GC riders and escape artists since the race landed on Italian soil after three stages in Bulgaria. That all could change on Thursday's stage 12 but will depend on how much effort Paul Magnier's team will put into defending the ciclamino jersey.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider's points classification lead is currently being threatened by triple stage winner Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who climbed to second in that ranking after winning stage 11.
Just 20 points behind Magnier, Narváez could surpass the Frenchman by finishing in the top 3 on the stage to Novi Ligure if Magnier takes no points.
The battle will come early in the stage, when the breakaway specialists will throw everything into trying to get enough time that the sprint teams cannot chase them down in the flatter final 40 kilometres.
Stage 12 is a sort of reverse Milan-San Remo, starting in Imperia just down the coast from Sanremo. It therefore misses the Cipressa as the race heads inland before joining the familiar coastal roads of the Via Aurelia until Savona, where the climbs come in.
There is an intermediate sprint in Stella at kilometre 100.7 worth 12, 8, 5, 3, 1 points, but two category 3 climbs complicate matters directly after that point.
The Colle Giovo and Bric Berton ascents come back to back with only a short descent in between, with the latter topping out with 52 kilometres to go.
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What follows is a gradual descent, some uneven roads to the uphill Red Bull Kilometre with 13.4km to go to Novi Ligure, where the finishing positions are worth 50, 35, 25, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point.
In his post-stage 11 interview, Magnier emphasised he wants to score points on Thursday.
"For sure he has a lot of points," Magnier said of Narváez.
"I hope tomorrow I can survive the climb and make it to the final sprint and take again some points. Now he's second so I will need to have a look, but for sure we are focussed on the stage tomorrow.
"I think it will not be easy but we are here with a strong team to try to control everything and we will do our best."
Another rider looking to score points and move up is Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), a two-time winner of the ciclamino jersey at the Giro (2023, 2024), and a four-time stage winner. The Italian is currently at 65 points to Magnier's 131.
Stage 12 starts with an uncategorised climb to Chiusavecchia, so expect a flurry of attacks in the opening kilometres to get a breakaway going.
If the sprinters manage to bring the race back together, they'll have a straightforward run-in with no turns in the final 3.4km and a gently rising road to the line.
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Stage 12 profile at the 2026 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Route map of stage 12 for the 2026 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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