"Imagine if I had won...": Toon Aerts comes close to a breakthrough as Lotto-Intermarché's continues with just 4 riders

Looking ahead to the upcoming stages, many sprinters have circled the stage 12 as a day when "it could work out" and we'd witness a (reduced) bunch sprint. While the stage certainly ended up with a medium-sized group sprinting for a victory, you'd look for sprinters in the group in vain, as Toon Aerts prevailed from the reduced peloton. But even more importantly, one rider - Alec Segaert - slipped away with 3 kilometers to go and finished off his solo to underline the Belgian dominance in Novi Ligure.

However Segaert's solo was kind of expected. On contrary, Toon Aerts beating Ethan Vernon, Jasper Stuyven, Corbin Strong, Orluis Aular or Madis Mihkels in a head-to-head sprint was a proper shocker. At 32 years of age, Aerts is riding his first Grand Tour and so far, has not exactly profiled as a sprinter on road, excelling more in the classics-style of racing.

And he definitely did not line up to the Giro with great ambitions of his own with dedicated leaders Arnaud De Lie for the sprints, and Lennert Van Eetvelt in the mountains. But with both men out of the race, an opportunity presented itself to the Belgian rider.

"Before the Giro started, I had a conversation with team manager Maxime Bouet. He said that I would work for the guys at the start and that stage twelve would be for me. If you can then win the sprint, albeit with someone ahead of you, that is great and at the same time a bummer," Aerts told Eurosport after the finish.

The stage's key point was a double climb (Colle Giovo and Bric Berton) with 50 kilometers to go. There, Movistar Team and NSN Cycling Team laid down a heavy pace which doomed all pure sprinters, even the courageously-riding Jonathan Milan. But this pace also removed most domestiques from the equation, preparing grounds for Alec Segaert's solo.

And the former Lotto rider ended up being the only thing that stood between Aerts and a breakthrough road victory: "Maybe it softens the blow that it was Segaert. A rider we know well in the team. But to be honest, it would have been nicer if I had won. I was very strong in the sprint and we will take that with us into the future," states a proud Aerts.

"To be honest, I didn't see him get going. I was mainly focused on taking the right wheels, with Corbin Strong, Ethan Vernon and Jhonatan Narvaez. When I started my sprint, I saw that he was still riding ahead. It is unfortunate for me, but great for him. Just imagine if I had won... but I am very happy with second place."

Lotto-Intermarché were dealt a heavy blow yesterday. During stage 11, Lennert Van Eetvelt joined the winning breakaway and was on the way to a good result when a disaster struck, Van Eetvelt crashed and broke a middle finger on his left hand. Without the young climber, the Belgian team is down to four men with nothing to lose.

"At the same time, I have to thank the team for all the motivation they are still giving us, even after all the bad luck we have already had. It is not a victory, but we can move forward with this," states Aerts. "This morning on the team bus, together with the staff, we received a motivational speech from sports director Maxime Bouet. He said: 'After all this bad luck, show what we are still capable of.'"

"It was a moment to pick up our courage again. Not that we were completely down, but the loss of your team leader naturally does have an impact. I shared a room with Lennert and we got along well," Aerts continues his account.

"We worked for him all week, but when things go wrong, there is really nothing more you can do for him. Then it becomes difficult to say anything meaningful. Maxime's speech certainly helped us all get through the difficult moments of the stage," he concludes.