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The Independent
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia 2025 LIVE: Stage 12 updates, route and results as sprinters eye fast finish in Viadana
The 2025 Giro d'Italia continues with a day out for the sprinters after several intriguing stages in the battle for the general classification. The GC contenders get a theoretical day off on stage 12, a 172km run from Modena to Viadana, but in all likelihood will face another frantic day of jostling for position and trying to avoid splits as the race gears up for a drag race to the line. There are two category three climbs on the menu but all of the climbing is in the first half of the stage before a pan-flat finish. It's a chance for the pure sprinters, the likes of Olav Kooij and stage six winner Kaden Groves, to close the gap to Mads Pedersen, who leads the points classification by a huge margin and already has three stage wins to his name. Stage 12 preview The sprinters get another run-out today after a few GC-heavy days in the 2025 Giro d'Italia and a couple of thrilling stages for the breakaway. There's 1700m of elevation gain on today's 172km stage, but it's a real stage of two halves, with all that climbing before the 100km to go mark. From there it's almost entirely pan-flat, so expect any potential escapees to be caught and the sprint trains mass at the front to set up a drag race to the line. Starting in Modena, the parcours tilts uphill almost straightaway, gently at first to the category three climb at Baiso, 40km in, before rolling terrain carries the riders to the intermediate sprint at Felina. That up and down continues until the second of two classified climbs, 96km in at Borsea, with the second intermediate sprint on the flat at Sant'Ilario d'Enza. The sprinters may sweep up the bonus seconds and get a practice for the real thing in Viadana at the Red Bull kilometre in Brescello, 33km before the finish line. They then swing onto a 28.6km circuit of Viadana on mostly wide, straight, urban roads, and a wide, flat finishing straight with its final corner 500m from the line. Pure bunch sprint territory. Flo Clifford22 May 2025 10:07
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia Stage 12 preview: Sprinters' territory returns as fast men look to break Pedersen's dominance
The sprinters get another run-out today after a few GC-heavy days in the 2025 Giro d'Italia and a couple of thrilling stages for the breakaway. There's 1700m of elevation gain on today's 172km stage, but it's a real stage of two halves, with all that climbing before the 100km to go mark. From there it's almost entirely pan-flat, so expect any potential escapees to be caught and the sprint trains mass at the front to set up a drag race to the line. Starting in Modena, the parcours tilts uphill almost straightaway, gently at first to the category three climb at Baiso, 40km in, before rolling terrain carries the riders to the intermediate sprint at Felina. That up and down continues until the second of two classified climbs, 96km in at Borsea, with the second intermediate sprint on the flat at Sant'Ilario d'Enza. The sprinters may sweep up the bonus seconds and get a practice for the real thing in Viadana at the Red Bull kilometre in Brescello, 33km before the finish line. They then swing onto a 28.6km circuit of Viadana on mostly wide, straight, urban roads, and a wide, flat finishing straight with its final corner 500m from the line. Pure bunch sprint territory. Route map and profile Start time Stage 12 starts at 1.15pm local time (12.15pm BST) and is set to finish at 5.30pm local time (4.30pm BST). Prediction Take your pick of the sprinters in this race, with the flat run-in making this almost guaranteed to be a sprint finish - unless somebody launches a late flyer. Could Taco van der Hoorn or another breakaway specialist look for revenge, after they were caught in the final 2.5km on stage six into Napoli? Of the pure sprinters Kaden Groves and Casper van Uden have one stage apiece, while Mads Pedersen has three from the more punchy finishes and will likely be circling for more ciclamino points. Olav Kooij is winless in the race so far despite looking promising earlier in the race, but he's largely been anonymous since his second place on stage four. Paul Magnier looks to be growing into this race and Maikel Zijlaard has had a couple of top-10s, but let's go with Kaden Groves, who looked phenomenal on stage six and now has his confidence back after a first win of 2025.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Benjamin Harris and Servite showcase their speed at Southern Section track championships
In comic book terms, Servite's group of talented sprinters would be described as "faster than a speeding bullet." There's so many of them that a rival coach quipped, "They run so fast no one can see them." Advertisement Under an overcast sky and with unusually cool temperatures for May, Saturday's Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark High was not conducive of record times, but that didn't prevent the Friars from turning on the speed. It started with winning the Division 3 4x100-meter relay in 40.43 seconds but really got going when sophomore Benjamin Harris ran a career-best time of 10.32 seconds to win the 100 meters, an event in which the Friars accumulated 20 points. "I feel I have more in the tank," Harris said. "It's not my favorite weather. I like running in heat, but you have to adapt." Later in the 200 meters, he won in 20.96 seconds and Servite athletes also claimed third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Freshman Jalen Hunter won the 400 in 47.10. Advertisement Brandon Thomas, Servite's coach, has used his many fast runners to push each other in practices. "The next three weeks we're going to be real hot," he said. Servite could be a state title contender, but despite its sprinter success, the Friars fell short to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for the Division 3 team title. The Knights found enough depth in the field events to finish with 106.5 points to Servite's 104. JJ Harel made major contributions with a win in the high jump, second place in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump. Aaron Uzan got a surprise win in the 110-meter hurdles. The Masters Meet next Saturday at Moorpark, which features the 18 best qualifiers, will have a memorable 100. Rodney Sermons of Rancho Cucamoga, a USC commit, won the Division 1 100 in 10.36 seconds. He also took the 200 in 20.29. Sophomore Demare Dezeurn of Bishop Alemany set a Division 4 100 record in 10.42 seconds. Advertisement In the girls Division 1 100, Georgia-bound Keelan Wright of Chaparral repeated as champion with a time of 11.50. Marley Scroggins of Calabasas set a Division 3 100 record at 11.59 and won the 200 in 23.84. Wright also won her 200 in 23.32. Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, one of the top distance runners in the nation, broke his own record in the Division 1 1,600 meters, winning in 4:03.71. The Stanford commit is aiming for his best performance to come next month at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He has limited his appearances this spring trying to peak at the right time. "I wasn't planning on it today but it was fun," he said of his record. "I don't feel 100% fresh but am moving in the right direction." Advertisement Junior Alden Morales of JSerra set a Division 3 record in the 800 meters at 1:50.79. Sophomore Darren Haggerty of Viewpoint, the school's top wide receiver, surprised himself with personal bests to win the Division 4 long jump at 22 feet, 8 inches and high jump at 6-6. "It just happened," he said. Viewpoint tied Gardena Serra for the Division 4 team title. Aja Johnson of Notre Dame, headed to Louisville, won the Division 4 girls shotput at 46-2. Kaylin Edwards, the Long Beach Wilson senior who won a state championship in the 300-meter girls hurdles as a sophomore, showed she has regained her form in the 100 hurdles, winning Division 1 in 13.90. Wilson won the team title. Advertisement Braelyn Combe of Corona Santiago won her second straight Division 1 girls title in the 1,600 with a time of 4:46.99. She finished second at last year's state final to Ventura's Sadie Engelhardt. On the boys' side, Long Beach Poly (Division 1) and Culver City (Division 2) were among the team title winners. Canyon Country Canyon (Division 2), JSerra (Division 3) won girls' team titles, as did St. Mary's and Rosary, which finished tied in Division 4. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia Stage 6 preview: Another chance for sprinters on longest stage of this year's race
The 2025 Giro d'Italia continues with stage six, the longest stage of this year's edition at 226km - 75km more than Wednesday's rather trim stage five. That was won by the pink jersey of Mads Pedersen, who underlined his seriously impressive form by securing a hat-trick of victories and winning his first in the leader's maglia rosa. Unfortunately for his rivals today could be another one for the Dane, who won in today's finish town of Naples in the 2023 edition. There's a very hilly start to proceedings with an unmarked climb of the the Valico di Monte Romito in the start town of Potenza, and from there it's up and down for much of the day, but the course profile levels off with 60km to go and this should be the finale to a trilogy of stages for the fast men this week. For those bored of them, good news - Friday's stage seven has been earmarked by many as the day the fight for the maglia rosa really begins. Thursday first, though: the first categorised climb of the day is 40km in, and it's a long, 19.9km category 2 climb - the longest of the race so far - to Valco di Monte Carruozzo, hitting highs of 11%. From there the sprinters can recover over a largely rolling 50km before a category 3 ascent to Monteforte Irpino with 83km remaining. Then it's time for the bedraggled sprinters to restore order and get back to the front before a fourth finish in Naples in as many years. There's a false flat on a twisting pavé road until the 2km to go mark, when the route levels off and the riders head onto a wide, flat 900m finishing straight. In theory the early climbs should suit a breakaway, but few teams have bothered with those so far in the race and it's safe to assume that even if anyone does get up the road the sprinters' teams will keep them on a tight leash. Lidl-Trek have produced some masterful team performances to control the race so far and are likely to do the same today to keep Pedersen in pink for as long as possible, although the Dane may find himself out-sprinted by the fastest of his rivals on today's more sprinter-friendly finale. Route map and profile Start time Earlier start time than usual today: live coverage begins at 10.15am BST, with the race set to start at around 10.50am and conclude by 4.30pm. Prediction The likes of Olav Kooij (second on stage four), Kaden Groves and Sam Bennett were distanced on the climbs yesterday but should be back at the business end of proceedings today as the pure sprinters look to make their mark. Kooij's Visma-Lease a Bike leadout train hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders but the young Dutchman can manueuvre himself into position even without them and is probably the fastest of the bunch, with a second place already to his name this week. Let's go with Olav Kooij, although watch out too for compatriot and stage four winner Casper van Uden, who was majestic on Tuesday.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia stage five preview: Uphill finish could wreak havoc for sprinters as Wout van Aert looks for first win
The 2025 Giro d'Italia 's sprinter-friendly first week continues with another outing for the fast men on stage five, this time a trim 151km run from Ceglie Messapica to Matera. Unlike Tuesday's pan-flat stage four, won by the surprise package of Casper van Uden, this one has a sting in the tail in the form of the short, steep category four Montescaglioso climb inside the final 30km. It's a leg-sapping ascent that may eliminate some of the pure sprinters and hand the advantage back to the likes of pink jersey Mads Pedersen, who won stages one and three and was fourth yesterday in Lecce, as well as Wout van Aert and Corbin Strong, who have both performed well on the punchier stages so far in this race. There's more steady climbing on the menu after that, with a false flat leading to the finish in the Unesco World Heritage city of Matera. The final 3km include a punishing ramp that hits 10% and the final kilometre is a steady drag uphill too, so while the stage is likely to still come down to a bunch sprints of sorts, it may be pretty heavily reduced. Like stage four's twisting and turning city centre approach into Lecce, there's another fairly technical finish which could lead to a hair-raising finale as both the GC riders and sprinters jostle to keep position and stay safe at high speeds. There are two left-hand corners approaching the flamme rouge including a tricky one at the 1.2km to go mark before a wide 300m-long finishing straight. And like on stage four the daily Red Bull kilometre - with six, four and two bonus seconds on offer for the first three riders over the line - is at the top of a short climb, 100km into proceedings at Bernalda. Expect a similar squabble between the main GC riders for those, if the day's breakaway doesn't get them first. Route map and profile Start time Stage five will start at around 12:35pm BST and should conclude by 4pm. Prediction This could be one for Wout van Aert, who came second on stage one and was in fine form on all terrain during the Spring Classics, only to come away without a win. His teammate Olav Kooij feels a likely candidate to be distanced on the late climbs, meaning Visma-Lease a Bike could be all-in for the Belgian come the finale. But it's the maglia rosa of Mads Pedersen who has reigned supreme on the trickier uphill sprint stages so far, and after coming fourth in stage four behind a trio of pure sprinters, he clearly has the form. Although, stage four did show that a sprint finish is anyone's game, so could this even be one for Tom Pidcock?
