Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 12 preview
The peloton takes on the undulating Piedmont roads with 179km from the Roero Hills at Bra that takes the race to the vineyards at Rivoli.
The opening 36km initially head south from Bra, the birthplace of the slow food movement, but the pace in the peloton is likely to be high as an early breakaway can scoop up KOM points on a third-category climb at Pedaggera. From there, the route turns north with a pass through Alba and a relatively flat road through the next 80km, with a pair of intermediate sprints on offer. The second sprint point arrives at Avigliana, after the peloton makes its first pass through Rivoli for a western, counter-clockwise circuit of 54km.
Just 5.5km after Avigliana it is onto the lower slopes of the Colle Braida climb, a 9.8km ascent with a gradient averaging 7% and topping out at 12%. The descent then provides a fast approach to the narrow roads back into Rivoli. After a sharp left turn inside 800 metres to go, the road then kicks up for 200m and then eases to a slight incline for the final 400m.
