Kooij wins 12th stage of Giro d'Italia in sprint finish, Del Toro keeps overall lead
VIADANA, Italy — Dutch cyclist Olav Kooij won the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish Thursday as Mexico's Isaac Del Toro slightly extended his overall lead in the pink jersey.
Wout van Aert, the winner of Sunday's ninth stage, placed himself at the front as riders turned for home and led his Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Kooij into the final 200 meters.
From there, Kooij then held off countryman Casper Van Uden and Britain's Ben Turner to secure the first Giro stage win of his career.
'I'd been waiting for this victory. In the previous two sprints, things didn't go as planned. But today, everything went smoothly and I'm really happy,' Kooij said. 'Only Wout can do such a long lead-out. I managed to jump onto Casper's wheel and then come around him.'
They all finished in just under four hours.
Del Toro picked up a two-second time bonus during an intermediate sprint section and leads by 33 seconds over Spaniard Juan Ayuso in second place and by 1 minute, 9 seconds from Italian Antonio Tiberi in third.
The 21-year-old Del Toro became the first Mexican cyclist to lead the Giro when he finished second on Sunday.
Thursday's stage started from Modena — home of the famed Basalmic vinegar and the sparkling red wine Lambrusco — and rolled through the countryside before finishing in Viadana in the Lombardy region.
The slightly undulating 172-kilometer (107-mile) route was best suited to sprinters.
In overcast and damp conditions a three-rider breakaway of Italians — Giosuè Epis, Andrea Pietrobon and Manuele Tarozzi — was caught about 37 kilometers from the end.
Friday's slightly hilly 13th stage is 180 kilometers long, starting in Rovigo and finishing in Vicenza.
The Giro ends in Rome on June 1.
Primoz Roglic, the 2023 champion, is 1:26 behind Del Toro.
The 35-year-old Roglic, a former ski jumper before turning to cycling, is aiming for a second Giro title and sixth Grand Tour title overall.
The Slovenian has won the Spanish Vuelta a record-equaling four times.
Roglic lost significant time after a crash and then a bike change on Sunday's tricky stage.
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