Giro D'Italia 2015: Stage 12 Results, Overall Standings and Highlights

Philippe Gilbert of Belgium reigned supreme on Stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish in Vicenza. However, the legendary Alberto Contador still holds the overall lead after a second-place finish.

Gilbert posted a time of 4:22:50 on the 190-kilometre stage, with Maglia Rosa holder Contador trailing by just three seconds.

The Giro's official Twitter account confirmed the result:

Here are the Stage 12 results:

Position	Rider/Team	Time
1	Philippe Gilbert - BMC Racing Team	4:22:50
2	Alberto Contador - Tinkoff-Saxo	0:00:03
3	Diego Ulissi - Lampre-Merida
4	Simon Geschke - Team Giant-Alpecin
5	Enrico Battaglin - Bardiani CSF
6	Paolo Tiralongo - Astana Pro Team
7	Ion Izagirre - Movistar Team	0:00:06
8	Carlos Betancur - AG2R La Mondiale
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck - Lotto Soudal
10	Mikel Landa Meana - Astana Pro Team

Here are the overall standings after Stage 12:

Position	Rider/Team	Time
1	Alberto Contador - Tinkoff-Saxo	51:17:06
2	Fabio Aru - Astana Pro Team	0:00:17
3	Mikel Landa Meana - Astana Pro Team	0:00:55
4	Dario Cataldo - Astana Pro Team	0:01:30
5	Roman Kreuziger - Tinkoff-Saxo	0:01:55
6	Rigoberto Uran - Etixx - Quick-Step	0:02:19
7	Giovanni Visconti - Movistar Team	0:02:21
8	Damiano Caruso - BMC Racing Team	0:02:29
9	Andrey Amador - Movistar Team	0:02:38
10	Leopold Konig - Team Sky	0:02:44

Thursday's stage took place in the historic racing centre of Imola, heading south to the finish in the industrial heartland of Vicenza. The dry conditions were perfect for racing, with plenty of cloud cover to protect the cyclists. 

There were 187 riders at the start line, and Fabio Sabatini made one of a number of early attacks, attempting to split the leading pack. However, no rider was able to make a clean breakaway, and the race settled into a traditional formation. 

With 50 kilometres on the clock, the peloton remained firm and compact, wary of previous stages where riders have been able to escape the clutches of the field. 

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

And with almost half the race gone, five men finally broke free, with Patrick Gretsch, Davide Appollonio, Enrico Barbin, Kenny Elissonde and Nick Van der Lijke driving forward. The new leaders quickly built a two-minute gap, but the peloton reacted quickly to halve the deficit over a 10-kilometre period. 

Etixx-QuickStep took charge of proceedings at the front of the chasing bunch, reducing the gap to a mere 49 seconds as they successfully worked in tandem. And slowly but surely, the riders were individually caught, with parity achieved at the three-quarter point of the race. 

Gretsch attempted to consolidate his place at the front of the pack, but his early work was clearly causing him issues. As the peloton attacked the first climb on the day, it was Simon Geschke of Germany who took the points, clearly motivated to win the mountains jersey once again.

Tinkoff-Saxo then made their move with Contador on the third wheel, as conditions were affected by intermittent rain. The legendary Spaniard's timing has been supreme during the Giro, and it seemed he had once again gotten his calculations close to perfection. 

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

With the peloton fast degrading, Simon Gerrans and Stef Clement's day ended, as they crashed out in the deteriorating conditions on the descent. Astana positioned themselves at the front of the pack, with Contador close and Team Sky behind the overall leader. 

In the final kilometre, Contador attacked, but it was Gilbert who reacted first—and the rider took the win just ahead of the Spaniard. 

The Giro's official Twitter account confirmed the overall Maglia Rosa race leader:

Gilbert was ecstatic with his victory, but explained how the wet conditions at the finish hampered the race, as reported by The Press Association via The Guardian:

“The finish was very hard and the weather was horrible—not cold but wet—but the final 400 metres went perfectly. It’s a great feeling.”

Contador also spoke about the changing weather conditions but expressed his relief at his personal performance to retain the Maglia Rosa, per The Press Association via The Guardian:

"

It was another very hard day. We rode the first two hours at about 50kph, then the rain started. The peloton broke apart with the high speeds but I had good legs. Philippe Gilbert was very strong on the final climb but I was thinking of the general classification and I’m very happy with the outcome today.

"

Contador looks unstoppable now, and his overall form is devastating. His pace on the descents is dangerous to his rivals, and his climbing is as good as ever.

With a lead of 17 seconds over Italy's Fabio Aru, only a fall will see Contador robbed of the title he has worked so hard to earn.   

Aru certainly does not have Contador's raw pace when racing wheel-to-wheel, in the final stages of races, but if he can maintain the gap he has the chance to prevail if the Tinkoff-Saxo rider makes a fatal mistake.