Giro 2023: Nico Denz wins stage twelve in the sprint
Nico Denz (BORA-hangrohe) won the twelfth stage of the Tour of Italy (WorldTour), which takes place Thursday between Overland and Rivoli, at a distance of more than 185 kilometers. The German beat Latvian Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) and New Zealander Sebastian Berwick (Israel-Premier Tech). The riders arrived at three, running away from a group of thirty riders who had broken away at the start of the stage. Ilan van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step) finished sixth in Group Two.
Stage twelve looked promising for the nomads, with two categorized climbs including Colle Braida (10.7km at 5.9%) less than thirty kilometers from the finish. Thirty riders broke away from the peloton at the start of the race, and the quartet showed up mid-race, including Toms Scoggins, Nico Danes and Sebastian Berwick in particular.
Only these three riders remained after the climb of Colle Braida, where the favourites had been neutralised. Skujins and Denz tried to slide in Berwick in the final fifteen kilometres, but the New Zealander got back on their wheels to contest the sprint.
In the final that the riders had the chance to learn about during the stage, the sprint took off 200 meters from the line. Nico Denz reacted to the start of his rivals and never got the better of them. He finished ahead of Toms Scoggins, just a few lengths ahead of Sebastian Berwick, to claim his fourth career win, the most prestigious and his first of the season. In the second group, Ilan van Wilder finished sixth in the stage.
On Friday, the climbers will find favorable ground on the occasion of the thirteenth stage: a pass in the Alps and through Switzerland, with three first-category passes including Crans-Montana as a finish after 199 kilometers of Borgofranco d’Ivrea.
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