Righi nearly came to blows with Evans after stage 12. On what had seemed a straightforward sprint stage, a ten-rider breakaway including most of the Giro's overall contenders slipped away in the final kilometers and finished 10 seconds ahead of the peloton. Evans was the notable absence from the group, and had tried to pull the peloton fast enough to catch them. Righi, for his part, tried to obstructively ride a slower pace and allow Cunego, who had made the split, a better chance at the stage win. Cunego was only ninth in the sprint, and Righi and Evans were both fined after the stage by the UCI. Cunego was dropped by the race's favorites on the ascent of Monte Grappa in stage 14, and finished eighth, ceding two minutes to them. At this point, he was 15th in the standings, over 11 minutes back. Cunego was fifth on Monte Zoncolan the next day, losing a further two minutes to stage winner Basso. Cunego managed only 14th in the climbing time trial to Plan de Corones in stage 16, but managed to move into tenth overall with that result.