Nico Denz won the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia. © ANSA / ZEN

Second German stage victory in a row at the Giro d'Italia

The German professional cyclist Nico Denz celebrated his first win of the season and at the same time the greatest success of his career to date at the 106th Giro d'Italia. The 29-year-old from the Bora-hansgrohe team held his own on the 185 kilometer long course between Bra and Rivoli on Thursday ahead of the Latvian Toms Skujins and the Australian Sebastian Berwick.

18 May 2023

From: dpa

After Pascal Ackermann's success the day before, it is the second stage win by a German rider at this year's Giro. In the overall standings, Kämna defended sixth place, the Briton Geraint Thomas remains the leader.

“This is very big for me,” said Denz after the race. He is super proud. Originally he wasn't supposed to drive as a runaway, but then he got the green light. “When I looked around, there were only monsters, only big riders,” he added. On the section, which had two higher stops and a mostly flat middle section in between, Denz was part of a four-man leading group for a long time, which was later reduced to three. In the end he couldn't miss the victory over his two pursuers.

The death of favorites continues

The Australian Kaden Groves, winner of the fifth stage, had to leave the Tour of Italy during the race due to gastrointestinal problems. The Frenchman Mikaël Cherel and the Belgian Harm Vanhoucke also finished this year's Giro. The day before, Tao Geoghegan Hart, who was third overall at the time, fell and suffered a hip fracture. In the morning, the Italian Alessandro Covi, who was also involved in this crash and was injured, announced that he was ending the tour.

Before the 12th stage, along with Covi, 36 other riders had already dropped out of the tour after injuries and illnesses. Including the big favorite for overall victory, Remco Evenepoel, who dropped out on Sunday because of a positive corona test.

On Friday, the professionals have to tackle the 199 kilometer long course on the 13th stage between Borgofranco d'Ivrea and Crans-Montana in Switzerland. However, the route was shortened due to fresh snow and the risk of avalanches.