Novi Ligure (Italy) (AFP) - Alec Segaert won the 12th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday after a surprise late attack denied the sprinters their chance of a bunch finish, as his teammate Afonso Eulalio again stayed in the overall lead.

Belgian Segaert won his first ever stage on a Grand Tour after making a charge for the line with just over three kilometres remaining in an eventful stage.

The 23-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider prevailed in Novi Ligure after the 175km stage from Imperia which saw key sprint rivals Jonathan Milan and Paul Magnier dropped on the final Bric Berton climb.

“We studied the course to see where we could launch an attack during the finale, so I knew before the race that there might be an opportunity,” said Segaert.

“But there can be a thousand different scenarios in a race and you have to be able to adapt, but today everything went as planned.”

Portuguese Eulalio extended his lead over pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard to 33 seconds after claiming intermediate sprint points.

“I saw that the other riders weren’t interested, so I thought ‘why not?’. It was a few bonus seconds,” said Eulalio.

“I have a little over 30 seconds on Jonas. I don’t think it will be enough, but we’ll see.”

In the early part of the stage several attacks pulled away before being clawed back by the peloton, until a six-man group, none contending any of the jerseys on offer, created a gap of two minutes before the Colle Giovo climb.

That sweeping climb, which ended with the break caught, came around 80km from a finish which looked perfect for the sprinters.

Two of those sprint contenders, France’s Paul Magnier and home hope Jonathan Milan, drifted off the back of the peloton near the crest of the subsequent Bric Berton climb where the steep gradient put the non-climbers to the test.

Milan and Magnier could not close the gap on a rapid peloton and ended up finishing several minutes off the pace.

But it was not to be a sprinter’s finish thanks to Segaert’s bold burst which made it perfect day for his team.

Magnier kept hold of the sprinters’ jersey but is now just 11 points ahead of Jhonatan Narvaez who has won three stages in this year’s Giro.

On Friday, the peloton will take on a largely flat run between Alessandria and Verbania which features two punchy climbs towards the end of the 189km stage.