The 2012 Giro d'Italia nearly had a new maglia rosa wearer and general classification leader, but Sandy Casar was unable to overcome Lars Bak's spirited run at the end of Stage 12. Had he maintained that lead, Casar would have been the leader.
However, Casar did wind up moving into third place, putting him 26 seconds behind Joaquim Rodriguez. Rodriguez kept the maglia rosa and a 17-second lead over Garmin-Barracuda's Ryder Hesjedal. Other Garmin riders within a few minutes of Rodriguez and Hesjedal include Peter Stetina (+2:03) and Christian Vande Velde (+2:11). The rest of the tam is over 60 minutes behind.
Here is how the top 10 in the general classification has shaken out (full leaderboard):
| Posn. | Name | Country | Team | Time | d |
| 1 | Joaquim Rodriguez | ESP | KAT | 51:19:08 | 0:00 |
| 2 | Ryder Hesjedal | CAN | GRM | 51:19:25 | 0:17 |
| 3 | Sandy Casar | FRA | FDJ | 51:19:34 | 0:26 |
| 4 | Paolo Tiralongo | ITA | AST | 51:19:40 | 0:32 |
| 5 | Ivan Santaromita | ITA | BMC | 51:19:57 | 0:49 |
| 6 | Roman Kreuziger | CZE | AST | 51:20:00 | 0:52 |
| 7 | Benat Intxausti Elorriage | ESP | MOV | 51:20:00 | 0:52 |
| 8 | Ivan Basso | ITA | LIQ | 51:20:05 | 0:57 |
| 9 | Damiano Caruso | ITA | LIQ | 51:20:10 | 1:02 |
| 10 | Dario Cataldo | ITA | OPQ | 51:20:11 | 1:03 |
For more on the 2012 Giro d'Italia, stick with SB Nation Denver and visit cycling blog Podium Cafe.