Andre Greipel won his third stage of the 2016 Giro d'Italia before withdrawing from the race on Thursday.
The German won the 182-kilometres 12th stage from Noale to Bibione in a sprint finish as the top of the general classification standings remained unchanged.
Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) finished ahead of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) and was in possession of the points leader's red jersey when he quit the race.
"I'm sorry to leave the Giro with the maglia rossa but my season is full of goals and I need to rest," Greipel said.
"I've already achieved so much at the Giro."
Greipel will be among those seeking to win the Tour de France opening stage on 2 July and with it the yellow jersey, while October's World Championships in Qatar will also be a target.
Bob Jungels (Etixx-QuickStep) remains the overall leader and in possession of the pink jersey, the maglia rosa.
Team Sky’s Irish duo of Philip Deignan and Nicolas Roche finished in 109th and 138th respectively, clocking the same time as the winner.
Roche is 31st in the general classification, with Deignan 112th overall.
Friday's 13th stage is a challenging, mountainous route from Palmanova to Cividale del Friuli.
