One day after his second place, Carlos Betancur (Ag2r) again confirmed his growing condition when he finished 8th in the uphill sprint on stage 12.

"The riders did 52 km in the first hour," Ag2r sports director Laurent Biondi said. "The break only got away after 70km. Patrick (Gretsch) was present but they never had much of an advantage. We knew that the stage would be difficult but the rain still made things worse. 

"Carlos crashed, but it was not serious and he could start again immediately. For him, this was another good day. He confirms day by day. He fights for the win twenty-four hours after finishing second on the circuit in Imola. Tomorrow's stage is without difficulty and should enable him to recover before long time trial between Treviso and Valdobbiadene (59.4km) and, above all, the first big mountain stage between Marostica and Madonna Di Campiglio. "

Note that Carlos Betancur scored 5 more points in the KOM classification and he is now 3rd with 46 points.