Tour de France: Explosive stage 12 sees another crazy start, breakaway win sees Ion Izagirre back at the top
Cycling
Seven years following his last win at the Tour de France, Cofidis climber Ion Izagirre has succeeded in taking a big win, being the strongest from the breakaway on stage 12 to take a second win for the team.
The start of stage 12 was very explosive and promised to deliver similar spectacle to that of stage 10, and it delivered. The first 70 kilometers of racing averaged 47Km/h despite the many small climbs, where the attempts to form breakaway were constant and it saw Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Adam Yates in the move quite a few times.
Often in front of the main GC group, and a third group which included riders such as Louis Meintjes, Mikel Landa, Emanuel Buchmann and Sepp Kuss who were at a certain point several minutes behind the front groups. Some did manage to return later on however, despite the efforts of AG2R Citröen Team to keep the gap alive.
That work equally controlled the gap to the breakaway which had in the meantime formed. Julian Alaphilippe, Mads Pedersen, Thibaut Pinot, Ion Izagirre, Mathieu van der Poel, Dylan Teuns, Jasper Stuyven, Ruben Guerreiro, Andrey Amador, Victor Campenaerts, Tiesj Benoot, Matteo Jorgenson, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Tobias Johannessen and Guillaume Martin formed the group.
INEOS and Jumbo-Visma controlled the modest peloton pace, whilst in front the stage win began to be fought between the group on the treble of climbs. On the descent of the first Mathieu van der Poel and Andrey Amador moved off the front, with the Dutchman going solo in the second climb as the pace began to grow. He remained in front until the middle of the last of the three climbs.
Then Thibaut Pinot and Matteo Jorgenson bridged across, but were joined by the remaining survivors of the group. Ion Izagirre then was the one to have the legs to make the difference, with a stinging attack which saw him grow a meaningful gap of around 20 seconds by the summit of the ascent. He was then chased by teammate Guillaume Martin who was destabilizing the group, Matteo Jorgenson, Tiesj Benoot, Thibaut Pinot, Mathieu Burgaudeau and Tobias Johannessen.
However in the mostly downhill and rolling terrain that followed, Izaguirre's gap further grew, almost into one minute as the collaboration was not ideal in the chasing group. One attack was enough, the Basque rider rode all the way into the finish to bring in the French team's second win of the month. Mathieu Burgaudeau sprinted to second place whilst Matteo Jorgenson settled for third.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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