NOVI LIGURE, Italy — Alec Segaert claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory and Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio increased his overall lead of the Giro d’Italia.
Stage 12 was expected to end in a bunch sprint but Segaert jumped from the peloton with just under two miles remaining and the Belgian rider even had time to lift up his arms in celebration as he crossed the line.
Toon Aerts won the sprint for second, three seconds behind his compatriot at the end of the mainly flat 109-mile route from Imperia to Novi Ligure.
Guillermo Thomas Silva was third.
Nearly all of the general classification contenders were in the main bunch, but Eulálio picked up six bonus seconds earlier in the stage so increased his advantage to 33 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard.
Thymen Arensman was third overall, 2:03 behind Eulálio.
Stage 13 is another mainly flat leg that features two lower-classified climbs toward the end. It is a huge target for Italian rider Filippo Ganna, who dominated the Stage 11 time trial, as the 117-mile route from Alessandria ends in his hometown of Verbania.
The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.
The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.
