2012 Tour of the Basque Country
| 2012 UCI World Tour, race 9 of 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 2–7 April | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 824.6 km (512.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 20h 58' 15" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Samuel Sánchez (Spain)
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(Euskaltel–Euskadi) |
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| Second |
Joaquim Rodríguez (Spain)
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(Team Katusha) | |
| Third |
 Bauke Mollema (Netherlands)
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(Rabobank) | |
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Points |
Samuel Sánchez (Spain)
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(Euskaltel–Euskadi) |
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Mountains |
 Mads Christensen (Denmark)
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(Team Saxo Bank) |
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Sprints |
 Marco Pinotti (Italy)
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(BMC Racing Team) |
| Team | Team Katusha | ||
The 2012 Tour of the Basque Country was the 52nd running of the Tour of the Basque Country cycling stage race. It started on 2 April in Güeñes and ended on 7 April in Oñati, and consisted of six stages, including a race-concluding individual time trial. It was the ninth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
The race was won by Spain's Samuel Sánchez of the Euskaltel–Euskadi team, after winning two stages including the final stage time trial, to take the general classification on the final day. Sánchez won the general classification by 12 seconds over runner-up Joaquim Rodríguez of Team Katusha, who had led into the final stage; Sánchez also beat Rodríguez to the points classification title. Third place was taken by Rabobank's Bauke Mollema after he finished second to Sánchez in the time trial, and gained sufficient time to move up from eleventh overnight. In the race's other classifications, Marco Pinotti of the BMC Racing Team won the green jersey for the most points gained in intermediate sprints, while Team Saxo Bank rider Mads Christensen won the King of the Mountains classification, and Team Katusha finished at the head of the teams classification.
After the race was bailed out by Spanish bank Banco Sabadell on 5 March, race organisers announced the itinerary ten days later.
As the Tour of the Basque Country was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Two other squads were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 20-team peloton.
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