Giro d'Italia stage 12

Miguel Mínguez showed the aggressiveness injuries have prevented him from showing today on the 12th stage between Castelfidardo and Ravenna. The Bilbao native made it into the break of the day and gave Euskaltel some valuable time on the screen. With the stage likely being the final one for the sprinters, it was always a big ask of the quartet to actually make it to the line ahead of the peloton. It never looked likely either as HTC crowded the front end of the peloton and in typical fashion brought the plucky four back within ten kilometres of the line. In a crash-marred finale Cav once again showed his superiority, reigning supreme for his second win of this Giro. Euskaltel wisely kept out of the mad dash for the line, the team instead focusing on giving Antón a calm and comfy ride to the line. They succeeded, and Antón will embarge on the next three torturous stages in near perfect condition. "I'm feeling good, and from now on in terrain that is more favourable to me will dominate the stages", he said expectantly to the team's website upon crossing the line. "I'm confident, but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. This is the Giro, and riders like Contador, Nibali, Kreuziger, Rujano and Scarponi, to name but a few, are all present. We'll go day by day, see how we feel and take any opportunity that comes our way." Injury-prone GT debutant Minguez was happy with his day out, but admitted that the injuries sustained in a crash last week is still bothering him. With his favoured terrain coming up, he'll no doubt hope to be able to assist Antón and Nieve when the going gets tough. His day-long exploit took it's toll in the shape of 2:24 ceded by stage's end, but he'll no doubt be pleased with his ride anyway. Everyone else finished inside the main pack.