Giro Jot del Giorno - Rest Day

After 12 days of racing, the Giro finally gets it 2nd rest day, and really the first rest day for many of the riders, since the first one was a transfer day from Denmark to Italy. As I thought might happen, some breakaways escaped in the middle and hard mountain stages, although only one of them was a real escape, gaining a little under 4 minutes on the peloton. The other two breakaways on mountaintop finishes barely survived the catch of the overall contenders, besting an attacking Ryder Hesjedal on one, and retaking the stage on a sprint finish from Joaquim Rodriguez. The organizers took a little pity on the riders as well, offering a flat Stage 13 to the sprinters at only 120 kms, when most stages are about 160 kms. I expect a very reduced field tomorrow as most of the fast men say goodbye before the real mountains hit, but we'll see if Mark Cavendish can make those time cuts as he tries to wear the red sprinters' jersey all the way to Milan.