Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, of the Sunweb team, retained the race leader's pink jersey and an overall lead of 2min 23sec on 2014 champion and race favourite Nairo Quintana of Movistar.

The 13th stage is a 167km ride from Reggio Emilia to Tortona, another day for the sprinters to go for glory before the race moves back into the mountains on Saturday.