World champion Philippe Gilbert of Belgium won Stage 12 of the Tour of Spain on Thursday and Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead.
Gilbert attacked in the last 250 metres to outpower Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen with Argentina’s Maximiliano Richeze leading the bunch in for third.
As Gilbert celebrated his first victory of the year, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali remained in the overall lead for a second successive day ahead of Ireland’s Nicolas Roche and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde.
The Vuelta finishes in Madrid on Sept. 15.
Stage 12 Brief Results:
- Philippe Gilbert (Belgium / BMC Racing) 4:03:44″
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Team Sky) ST
- Maximiliano Richeze (Argentina / Lampre)
- Luca Paolini (Italy / Katusha)
- Gianni Meersman (Belgium / Omega Pharma – Quick-Step)
- Francesco Lasca (Italy / Caja Rural)
- Steve Chainel (France / AG2R)
- Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (South Africa / Argos)
- Anthony Roux (France / FDJ.fr)
- Zakkari Dempster (Australia / NetApp)
General Classification After Stage 12:
- Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Astana) 45:26:06″
- Nicolas Roche (Ireland / Saxo – Tinkoff) +31″
- Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar) +46″
- Chris Horner (U.S. / RadioShack)
- Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain / Katusha) +2:33″
- Domenico Pozzovivo (Italy / AG2R) +2:44″
- Ivan Basso (Italy / Cannondale) +2:52″
- Thibaut Pinot (France / FDJ.fr) +3:35″
- Rafal Majka (Poland / Saxo – Tinkoff) +3:46″
- Daniel Moreno (Spain / Katusha) +3:56″
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.