Stage Winner: Biniam Girmay (Intermaché-Wanty)
GC Leader: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

After one of the most thrilling Tour de France days in recent memory, Stage 12 offered some respite for viewers and riders alike. Yet, despite being labeled a flat stage, there was still a trio of category-four climbs, giving the day a chance to be a lot less ho-hum than Tuesday’s Stage 10.

The 203.6 kilometres from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot boasted over 2,200 metres of climbing. The day started with a bit of a shock, as Astana Qazaqstan’s Michael Mørkøv, a key leadout man for Mark Cavendish, didn’t start the day, abandoning the race after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

No sooner did race director Christian Prudhomme wave the yellow flag than Groupama-FDJ’s Kevin Geniets launched an attack, eliciting no response from the peloton. Soon after, TotalEnergies’ Thomas Gachinard joined his wheel. However, their move was in vain, as they were caught just a few kilometres down the road.

Barely more than twenty kilometres into the day, DSM-Firmeninch-PostNL’s star sprinter Fabio Jakobsen, who was already four minutes off the back of the peloton, pulled up, climbed off his bike, and abandoned the Tour de France.

Shortly after, a four-man breakaway of Groupma-FDJ’s Valentin Madouas and Quentin Pacher, Team Uno-X Mobility’s Johan Abrahamsen, and TotalEnergis’ Anthony Turgis established themselves, quickly building a lead of three-and-a-half minutes.

With some 120 kilometres to go, Bahrain-Victorious’ Pello Bilbao fell off the back, joining Jakobsen in abandonment soon after.

As the day’s early climbs led into its final few dozen flat kilometers, the peloton began to reel the break in. Turgis was the first to fall back from the lead bunch, leaving Madouas, Pacher, and Abrahamsen at the pointy end of the stage.

After nearly a 160 km off the front, the leaders were caught with forty-two kilometres to go. From there, it was easy, like Tuesday morning, until a huge crash with 12km to go left the back half of the peloton in absolute carnage. An Astana Qazaqstan rider hit a median in the road, which sent him careening into the other side of the group. BORA-hansgrohe’s leader and current fourth-place rider Primož Roglič and Alpecin-Deceuninck’sworld-champion leadout man Mathieu van der Poel were caught up in the crash. Roglič rode off after a few moments, surrounded by his teammates. He was nearly a minute and a half behind the leaders, losing valuable seconds in his fight for the podium. Van der Poel also got back on after a few tense moments.

Teams started throwing punches with the final seven kilometres, with Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan team taking their role at the front of the group. In an effort to avoid more chaos, Tadej Pogačar spent a few of the final kilometres at the front as well. The peloton was a washing machine from there, with teams rolling to and off the front. 160km of leadout didn’t seem to jeopardize Jonas Abrahamsen’s legs as he fought his way to the front for a while, working for his sprinter, Alexander Kristoff.

Finally, after a long, straight sprint, Intermarché-Wanty’s Biniam Girmay won his third stage of the Tour, outlasting BORA’s Wout van Aert and Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Arnaud Démare at the line.

By the end of the day, Roglič dropped two spots to sixth overall.

“Since I started wearing the green jersey, I feel super fast.

“I knew I could get good results if I had the right time and the right wheel. I proved in the last three sprints that if I have a good position, I am able to win,” Girmay said after the stage. “I said on the radio, ‘Guys, I feel super good. With some small support, I can do it,’” he added. “Since I started wearing the green jersey, I feel super fast. I just believe. I can prove that I am the best.”

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