Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 12 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Will anyone try to disrupt the first bunch sprint in a week?

The 2026 Giro d'Italia will take place from the 8th to the 31st of May. It is the first Grand Tour of the season, and there are 21 stages that will take the riders through many of Italy's iconic cities, the mythical Alps, and many treacherous stages - each one can end the climber's chances of winning. We preview stage 12, which is expected to start and finish at 13:15 and 17:00CET.

The riders take on a day where a sprint is very likely to decide the outcome of the day. The profile is not fully flat, but the climbs are not overly hard and still come very far away from the finish to make a true impact.

The last of the climb ends with still 52 kilometers to go and the gradients are simply not hard enough to truly put the sprinters into difficulty with definitive effect, meaning a bunch sprint is quite likely.

In Novi Ligure, the sprinters return to the spotlight, with a non-technical finale that will provide the leadout trains with a golden opportunity before the race reaches the Alps.

Since stage 6, it is the first opportunity for the sprinters. But it will not be easy. The weather will be on the riders' side, a warm day where the wind won't be felt; but the climbs are the real obstacle of the day.

But looking at them closely, we see that the threat is not overly high. They cannot be underestimated, they are 11 and 5 kilometers long at that 4-6% gradients, which is definitely not easy. But this being a key part of the stage depends on a team doing what Movistar did on stage 4: Attack the climbs all out and then maintain the pace to the finish. Only in this case, there are over 50 kilometers to the finish, and the ascents aren't as hard.

Besides, Movistar did not benefit from their work on that day, so unless there is a separate team looking to do the same, then it is unlikely to happen. Meanwhile, the sprinter teams will likely put in a lot of effort to prevent a strong breakaway from going up the road, because they really don't have a lot of opportunities.

There's no 'man to beat' in this stage, but there will be pressure on the shoulders on everyone to beat a Paul Magnier who's definitely been the sprinter of the race thus far. He has won two bunch sprints and in Napoli, from those that did not hit the floor, he was the strongest. The climbs will damage others more than him...

Ben Turner and Orluis Aular are the two riders who would want the climbs to be ridden as hard as possible, they were the best on stage, although the INEOS rider had to then work for Egan Bernal. That won't be repeated here, but INEOS wants their two GC men safe and I don't think they actually have firepower to put into working like this for Turner. Movistar may have, but their energy can be put to use much better by chasing breakaway wins in the mountain stages.

Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen are the two riders who will want the climbs ridden as easy as possible, meaning likely a hard pace before them, both teams will be controlling the peloton with certainty alongside Quick-Step. Decathlon, led by Tobias Lund Andresen, can certainly give a hand as well, whilst serving as a middle ground between who wants a fast climb and who doesn't.

Aside from them we must consider other sprinters for the finale such as Matteo Malucelli, Ethan Vernon, Erlend Blikra, Giovanni Lonardi, Jensen Plowright, Paul Penhoët, Pascal Ackermann, Madis Mihkels, Casper van Uden and Luca Mozzato.

*** Paul Magnier, Jonathan Milan, Dylan Groenewegen

** Tobias Lund Andresen, Ben Turner

* Orluis Aular, Ethan Vernon, Madis Mihkels, Matteo Malucelli, Erlend Blikra, Casper van Uden

Pick: Jonathan Milan

How: Regular bunch sprint.