Giro d'Italia Daily Stage 12 – Cavendish leaves the Giro a winner

Today's stage: A long, flat stage designed to end in a sprint finish to allow the sprinters who dared to turn up an opportunity before the real mountains begin.

Who won the stage? Mark Cavendish repeated his stage 10 sprint victory following a perfect leadout from his HTC-Highroad team.

What matters in the GC race? Nothing. This was a pure sprint stage where the only goal of GC contenders was to not crash.

Biggest surprise: Nothing. This stage went exactly to predicted form. Early breakaway would form and build lead. Race leader Alberto Contador's Saxo Bank team would decline to chase. Sprint favorite Cavendish's HTC-Columbia team would take the cahse up and catch the sprinters in the latter portion of the stage. Cavendish or Lampre sprinter Alessandro Petacchi would win the stage. Ho hum and that is exactly what happened.

Biggest disappointment: That nothing out of the predicted stage from the previous paragraph happened.

Other items of note: Cavendish, Petacchi and many of the other sprinters are dropping out of the race and won't start tomorrow. With every remaining stage either a high mountain, medium mountain or time trial, there is no reason for the sprinters to remain. Only Petacchi as the points leader has any reason at all and he lacks the lead large enough to matter in part because of the neutralization of stage 4. In California, Peter Sagan of the Liquigas-Cannondale team won a sprint into Paso Robles after three-time world champion Oscar Friere was caught from his position in the breakaway in the final three km. Chris Horner remains in the overall lead in the Tour of California.

Hairpin turn on the Grossglockner Alpine road. Yikes.

What is coming tomorrow? Grossglockner. Elevation 7011 ft. Four other climbs as well. The mountains are really here and they will be staying for awhile (the rest of the race save the final time trial).

Any GC changes tomorrow? Possible. Contador might attack and might not. Nobody is really sure. Somebody else very well may attack too. Nobody knows in part because the even more imposing Monte Zoncolan in Saturday.