Giro d'Italia 2012 Results: Domenico Pozzovivo Captures Stage 8 Victory

The 2012 Giro d'Italia went through the spine of Italy on a 229 km run from Sulmona to Lago Laceno, and at the end of the stage, Domenico Pozzovivo crossed the finish line first in 6:06:05. This was a 23-second lead on second-place finisher Benat Intxausti Elorriaga. The next 23 riders came in 27 seconds behind Pozzovivo.

Garmin-Barracuda's Ryder Hesjedal came in with that third grouping of riders to maintain the maglia rosa (pink jersey) for a second day in a row. Teammate Christian Vande Velde was the second-place finisher among Garmin riders, but he was 1:24 behind the Stage 8 winner Pozzovivo.

This marks the end of a three-day trip through the mountains, but it is only a short break. On Monday, a flat stage from San Giorgio del Sannio to Frosinone awaits the riders, but they will alternate that with medium mountains until the weekend, which marks the start of the difficult mountain stages.

Here is how the top 10 for the stage finished (complete Stage 8 standings):

Pos.	Name	Country	Team	Time	d	Time bonus
1	Domenico Pozzovivo	ITA	COG	6:06:05	0:00	20"
2	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga	ESP	MOV	6:06:28	0:23	12"
3	Joaquim Rodriguez	ESP	KAT	6:06:32	0:27	8"
4	Thomas De Gendt	BEL	VCD	6:06:32	0:27
5	Dario Cataldo	ITA	OPQ	6:06:32	0:27
6	Damiano Caruso	ITA	LIQ	6:06:32	0:27
7	Gianluca Brambilla	ITA	COG	6:06:32	0:27
8	Bartosz Huzarski	POL	APP	6:06:32	0:27
9	Jose Rujano Guillen	VEN	AND	6:06:32	0:27
10	John Gadret	FRA	ALM	6:06:32	0:27