Crashes, illness and Wednesday’s frantic stage took tollSix riders abandoned race across white gravel Tuscan roadsEgan Bernal retained the pink jersey as Andrea Vendrame won an attritional stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia from the breakaway in Bagno di Romagna. Crashes, illness and the effects of Wednesday’s frantic stage across the white gravel roads of Tuscany took their toll as six riders abandoned the race during the course of its second longest stage – covering 212km and 3,700 metres of climbing from Siena.
By the end of it there was no major change at the top of the general classification as the Ineos Grenadiers’ Bernal continues to lead by 45 seconds from Astana-Premier Tech’s Aleksandr Vlasov. But Movistar’s Marc Soler abandoned from 11th place overall after a crash early in the day, while two-time winner Vincenzo Nibali, more than four minutes down in 13th place, used a late attack to claw back a few seconds and show he still has ambitions in the race.