Quinten Hermans third after chase-group sprint in Fano the two-time World Champion launched the first of many attacks some 138km from the finish before getting into a two-man move ten kilometres later but he and break companion Mirco Maestri (Polti-Kometa) would outlast all the chasers until Alaphilippe went solo 11.5km from the line with an attack on the final climb In what was a vintage Alaphilippe performance the Frenchman crested the final Monte Giove climb with around a 40-second lead on the chasing group that contained eventual second place Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who came third but they never looked like chasing him down Alaphilippe was part of a huge breakaway fight that ignited in the walls of the Marche region with almost a quarter of the remaining Giro peloton chancing their hand in the move in what was one of the fastest stages in Giro history A win at the Giro completed the Grand Tour stage win set for Alaphilippe adding to his six Tour de France stage victories and singular win from La Vuelta a España It was also his first win since last year’s Critérium du Dauphiné and his first at a Grand Tour since the opening stage of the 2021 Tour I was expecting a big group to be in the breakaway and I think first I have to thank my teammates who really controlled perfectly the first 60k I was really focused to be in the front,” explained Alaphilippe before giving high praise to his companion in the break “We went first in the big group and then with Mirco Maestri together I said ‘We go’ he was amazing and we collaborated super well.” It has been a tough period for Alaphilippe as he’s struggled with bad injuries in the last few years alongside public criticism from team boss Patrick Lefevere silencing all the critics and paying off all the work with a dream win I had to keep pushing full gas because I heard Narváez was close behind me,” Alaphilippe said “It was my dream to win a stage at the Giro and I did it they’ve supported me since forever.” Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) stayed safe in the peloton on a calm day alongside Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) with no attacks being launched on the final climb 11th-place Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) threatened to move up in the early break but Bahrain Victorious made sure the group he was in was reeled back to protect fifth-place Antonio Tiberi’s GC position The hotly anticipated start of stage 12 at the Giro d’Italia welcomed hot and hazy weather in Martinsicuro with a 193km fight in the muri marchigiani - the walls of the Marche region - which we see so often in Tirreno-Adriatico The 50km run north up the coast was some of the fastest racing in Giro history with a 57kph average speed being held throughout the first hour as nearly each of the 22 teams chanced their hand to get into the early break with a hilly parcours offering the perfect day to stay away Small groups would get ahead momentarily with the likes of Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) getting some small advantage while passing through San Benedetto del Tronto along the Adriatic coast but a strong tailwind was making it easy to follow the moves and not allowing a big group to go but things kicked off properly when the race turned left away from the coast and into the hills just before reaching Civitanova Alta where Alaphilippe ignited a massive move with Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost) on the uncategorised climb to Montecosaro This would bring former stage winners at this year’s Giro Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) into action in a big chasing group with a second chasing group of other strong rouleurs and puncheurs following closely behind Things started to swell on the uncategorised uphill rise into Montelupone until Alaphilippe decided he was unhappy with the configuration and launched a move with Maestri 126km from the line The duo instantly got a gap and kicked on as the 36 other riders in the breakaway tried to organise behind With nearly a quarter of the remaining 154-rider peloton at this year’s Giro up the road things were calm for the GC sat three minutes down even with 11th-place Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) getting away This remained true until the 100km to go mark when Bahrain-Victorious decided they would pace at the front of the peloton to protect fifth-place Antonio Tiberi’s advantage over the Czech climber But the danger of Hirt disappeared when attacks restarted in the chasing breakaway group on the flat with 93km to go This is where the stronger men in the break such as Narváez and Matteo Trentin (Tudor) were forced to accelerate after Christian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan) and Ewen Costiou (Arké-B&B Hotels) got things going again The Hirt group would fall away and stop posing any threat to the top 10 on GC as a mechanical ruined Costiou’s chances and formed a nine-rider group as the main chasing group with each wall stinging the legs even more Alaphilippe was keeping his fellow escapee Maestri close despite his obvious struggle on the uphill knowing he’d be essential to making it Despite the strength of the nine-man group Christian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan) and Hermans they would actually start losing time until around the 30km to go mark when they were back to a minute deficit the group behind began to work better and reduced the advantage to 45 seconds with the final climb of the day to Monte Giove approaching This is where Alaphilippe and Maestri would say goodbye with the Frenchman setting off at the foot in pursuit of the stage win Valgren would launch with Narváez in his wheel but no one could make up the difference on the flying Frenchman The Ecuadorian continued to show his brilliance at this year’s Giro after he got away with Hermans but the damage was done by Alaphilippe and they were only fighting for second and third with Narváez having too much in the sprint GC action looked as though it might have kicked off behind with Bora-Hansgrohe positioning Martínez perfectly on the steep narrow ramp but nothing happened and the group of favourites would just stay safe until they reached the line preparing for another flat stage tomorrow and the big time trial on Saturday Results powered by FirstCycling during which time he also wrote for Eurosport Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby Stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia leads riders north with the opening section along the Adriatic coastline from the start in Martinsicuro and 193km later will deliver the goods in Fano and when the course veers inland at Fontespina there are a series of unrelenting small climbs that build to the crescendo back on the coast very punchy late climbs reminded him of a day at the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico one where Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) rode a solo breakaway to a spectacular victory.  Four of those 10 climbs are classified as category 4 and a final ascent of Monte Giove is unclassified but with 10 kilometres remaining to the finish it tilts skyward with gradients of 20%.  The sharp climb crests at the village of San Costanzo then descends east toward the Adriatic Sea The 6km approach to the finish line in Fano will be a fast “It’s going to be really crazy for getting in a break, I think, unless somebody in the bunch has other ideas. But I doubt it, this is stage 12 of the Giro So everyone else will want their shot in the break and it will be a hard stage to control,” Pogačar said after finishing safely in the peloton on Wednesday to remain in the maglia rosa a sports marketing and public relations agency which managed projects for Tour de Georgia a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast) Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France) Stage 12 profile and route map: Martinsicuro - Fano AdvertisementHow was your experience today? ITALY - MAY 16: Julian Alaphilippe of France and Team Soudal Quick-Step celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 107th Giro d'Italia 2024 Stage 12 a 193km stage from Martinsicuro to Fano / #UCIWT / on May 16 (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) Credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.Get the latest with our sport podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.Watch on SBS SportSport News Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) won stage five of the 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico from Martinsicuro to the ski resort of Prati di Tivo and thereby moved up to third overall in the general classification Nibali attacked alone with four kilometers of the climb remaining and finished 16 seconds ahead of Roman Kreuziger (Team Astana) of the Czech Republic Chris Horner of RadioShack-Nissan finished third Horner kept the race leader's blue jersey and Kreuziger is now second overall Nibali is now third at 12 seconds and a contender for the overall victory when Tirreno-Adriatico 2012 ends on Tuesday But we'll have to wait for the time trial to see who wins overall 12 seconds is a lot to pull back but we'll see what happens," Nibali commented and added "I've got a great team that will help me during Monday's stage so I think the time trial will decide things I think it'll be more difficult to beat Kreuziger than Horner." "I knew the central part of the climb was the hardest Horner went hard there and caused a selection When we caught him I saw that everyone else were working hard on catching their breath I felt good and so did the same effort I did to win the stage in Oman I've been focused on winning Tirreno-Adriatico all week and I want to win it Peter (Sagan) partially accepted his mistake yesterday and he worked hard for me today which shows there no problem in the team." Horner also expects this year's Tirreno-Adriatico to be decided in Tuesday's 9.3 kilometer time trial Kreuziger and I are very close matches on the time trial bike and I only have a five-second lead I know I just need to go incredibly hard for the nine kilometers of the race" Horner analyzed Horner is 40 and is one of the oldest riders in the peloton I thought I'd be riding my bike at weekends and working a different job but I'm enjoying myself immensely at the moment." The most difficult thing is to say no to family I understand the time I need to dedicate towards finding my absolute top form and in that period you need to say no." Watch video highlights from every stage of the 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico in our video section road bike shopcycling manager game All rights reserved. © 2024 Roadcycling.com® - part of Seven Sparkles Intl Italy (AP) — Two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe won the hilly 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday with a solo breakaway while Tadej Pogacar finished safely in the main pack to retain the pink jersey It was Alaphilippe's first victory in the Giro to go with his six stage wins at the Tour de France and one at the Spanish Vuelta — plus his back-to-back world titles in 2020 and 2021 "I hadn't planned on a 125-kilometer breakaway,'' Alaphilippe said "It's a splendid victory after a rough period.'' Alaphilippe clocked slight more than 4 hours over the 193-kilometer (120-mile) route from Martinsicuro to Fano which started flat along the coast but then cut inland for four fourth-category climbs Jhonatan Narvaez edged Quinten Hermans in a two-man sprint for second Pogacar and the peloton finished more than 5 minutes back Two-time Tour de France champion Pogacar remained 2 minutes 40 seconds ahead of Daniel Martinez and 2:56 ahead of Geraint Thomas as he attempts to win both the Giro and the Tour this year "If there wasn't the overall standings to worry about I would have thought about trying to win this stage,'' Pogacar said Only champions are capable of actions like that.'' Sprinter Fabio Jakobsen abandoned the race before the stage started after crashing on Wednesday Stage 13 on Friday follows an entirely flat route from Riccione to Cento Then there's an individual time trial on Saturday followed by three consecutive mountain legs When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines Should you violate our submissions guidelines we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time The Under 27 Giro d'Italia (GiroBio) continues without a single British cyclist after Manxman Chris Whorrall failed to finish the first stage to Martinsicuro last Friday this is the story of Whorrall," Angelo Baldini boss of the Polish MG Kvis Norda team told Cycling Weekly if his condition had been as it was in the first part of the year..." Whorrall travelled along in the team car after abandoning really." Whorrall is still suffering after an incident earlier in the year He crashed in stage one of the Coppa delle Nazioni and fractured his left thumb At the time he left the team's base in Tuscany and returned home to the Isle of Man to see a specialist Mark helped him and Tim Kennaugh join the team He definitely has talent - not afraid in the sprints - but we still need to develop him." Cavendish joined the team at its presentation early this year and lent his support to the team via his name on the jersey He and former British Cycling Olympic Academy coach Max Sciandri helped the three Brits find a place in Baldini's team placed second in the Giro delle Tre Province on March 12 and fourth in the GP Pretola on March 6 he will stay with his team at the Giro and then travel home to compete in the nationals at the end of the month four British riders finished the nine-day GiroBio: Luke Rowe Mark Christian and Andrew Fenn (all on the GB team) and Simon Holt (De Nardi Colpack Bergamasca) Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Gregor BrownSocial Links NavigationGregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.  The body of a man accused of killing two Italian fishermen in a drink drive crash was found while he was on house arrest was found dead by his brother Alexander on October 2 He was awaiting trial accused of multiple aggravated manslaughter in Italy and had been granted house arrest in January 2016 An inquest into his death at Maidstone Coroner's Court heard from his father He said his son had been given opium based cough medicine by a local doctor shortly before his death But assistant coroner Alan Blunsdon adjourned the fact finding quest to allow the court obtain more witness statements The coroner is seeking a copy of the statement from Collins' aunt who visited Stephen shortly before his death Mr Blunsdon is also hoping to gather a copy of a witness statement made to the Italian police A date will be fixed for the inquest which is expected to last at least half a day after the coroner has secured all statements Inquests are public judiciary hearings that establish the circumstances leading to an individual's death It goes into detail of when and where they died their medical cause of death and how they came by their death Inquests are called when the exact circumstances as to how a person died are not clear It is commonly called a fact finding process and they do not exist to proportion blame on any party Collins was allegedly six times over the Italian drink drive limit when his rented Audi Q7 crashed into another vehicle and killed two fishermen in the small coastal town of Martinsicuro and Collins was found to have 300mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood when the Italian drink-drive limit is 51mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood slightly lower than the UK's 80mg limit were on their way to work in their Volkswagen Polo when they were tragically killed instantly He appeared at a court in the Italian town of Teramo where his defence team reportedly claimed that he was not behind the wheel and the other people in the car had fled the scene To keep up to date with all the latest breaking news, stories and events happening across Kent and East Sussex, give the Kent Live Facebook page a like We will provide you with the latest traffic and travel updates Like us here You can also follow us on Twitter here Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.