Other riders who are expected to keep their powder dry are the GC contenders. After all, stage 13 takes in two massive ascents to finish uphill in ski resort Crans-Montana. A route with over 5,000 metres of climbing. That’s the place to put time into your rivals for pink.
Which is not the case on the roads between Bra and Rivoli. The route opens on demanding terrain with a series of short climbs – to Cherasco (1.1 kilometres at 6.2%), La Morra (6 kilometres at 5%), Monforte d’Alba (2.1 kilometres at 4.8%) and Pedaggera (4.1 kilometres at 4.3%) -, all packed together inside the first hour of action. The riders continue onto the Po Plains and head towards the finishing circuit around Rivoli.
After moving through the finish line with 60 kilometres remaining the riders race to Avigliana to enter the Colle Braida. From bottom to top the climb totals 10.8 kilometres at 5.9%, but that statistic is biased by a downhill. The last 5 kilometres rise at 8.3% to the summit.
A 15 kilometres descent takes the riders down to Reano, where a 1.7 kilometres section at 3.3% preceds the last 10 kilometres on the flat.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 12 2023 Giro d’Italia.
Giro d’Italia 2023 stage 12: route, profile, more
Click on the images to zoom