Vendrame won Stage 12, 212 km from Siena to Bagna di Romagna where he beat Chris Hamilton in a 2-man sprint.
Nibali the Shark earned a few seconds on the descent towards the finish. De Marchi had a bad crash and had to go to the hospital for broken ribs and a fractured collarbone.
The stage started fast with many attacks and counter attacks. Those included Vendrame, Ravanelli, Albanese, Petilli, Brambilla, Ulissi, Bouchard and Visconti. Bernal’s Ineos team let Puccio and Ganna pull the group. A big downpour fell on the race in the short descent towards Passo della Calla, where the escape broke up and then regrouped.
In the lead there are 13 left before the Passo del Carnaio, the last climb of the day that makes the selection.
In the last 10 km Brambilla, Hamilton, Bennett and Vendrame remain to fight for the victory, with the Vendrame sprinting the last 2 km with Hamilton and then beating him in the final sprint.
The group at – 8 km Ciccone, escorted by Nibali, tries the attack to gain on Bernal, but the pink jersey – thanks to Moscon’s precious work – is not surprised. The Shark, however, does not give up and in the final descent gains 7 ” over Bernal.
Stage Results:
1 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team 5:43:48
2 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM
3 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:15
GC
1 Egan Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 48:29:23
2 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:45
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:12
4 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:17
5 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:01:22
