The last time the Giro d’Italia passed over the Col de Joux was in 2012, during the Cherasco–Cervinia stage, 209 km long. Compared to the side the riders will face in 2025, it was a different ascent, but even then, it was the penultimate climb of the day.
In truth, the much-anticipated Alpine stage in 2012 ended up being a bit of a letdown, as the breakaway made it to the finish in Cervinia, while the big GC favorites barely moved, reflecting what was, overall, a rather unspectacular edition of the Giro. Three riders fought it out for the stage win: Andrey Amador, Jan Barta (who was first over the Col de Joux), and a still-developing Alessandro De Marchi, who was just beginning to make a name for himself with long-range attacks. Despite multiple accelerations, the trio ended up contesting the finish in a sprint, with the Costa Rican proving the fastest and earning his first professional victory (he would go on to finish 4th overall at the Giro in 2015).
“Amador, on his third breakaway of this Giro, gets the better of Czech rider Barta and Friulian De Marchi,” reported Corriere della Sera. “Andrey was robbed and badly beaten by bandits in Costa Rica while training a year and a half ago, but he came back strong: a good bedtime story, for a Giro d’Italia still half asleep.”
Behind them, not much happened – yet that “not much” turned out to be decisive in the general classification. The Maglia Rosa was on the shoulders of Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez: everyone expected attacks from Ivan Basso or Michele Scarponi, but both rode conservatively. It was the still underestimated Ryder Hesjedal who caught everyone by surprise. The Canadian had already worn the Maglia Rosa for three days earlier in the race before losing it on the climb to Assisi. But the top contenders didn’t yet see him as a real threat in the GC. Hesjedal attacked, Purito let him go, and the future Giro winner gained 26 precious seconds at the finish, taking back the Maglia Rosa. Rodriguez would reclaim it the next day at Pian dei Resinelli and keep it until the final stage, when Hesjedal overtook him again in the Milan time trial. In a Giro, which provided no time bonuses on mountain stages, Purito would lose the race by just 16 seconds.
