Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla), one of the general classification revelations of Giro d'Italia 2023, has dug deep and climbed with the very best again today on stage 19. He is now up to 4th overall with just three days remaining. The select group split a little earlier today, with bigger gaps opening, but once again the Irishman has proven his Grand Tour contender credentials.
On what was a very hard summit finish to Val di Zoldo, at the end of 161km of racing, Dunbar held onto the top two men - race leader Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) - on the penultimate climb for longer than anyone else.
And while the 26-year-old was on that climb, he gathered himself very well; pacing himself on the final ascent and limiting the damage to those ahead while putting time into the riders he had already dropped. And those time gains mean the Irishman's steady but relentless progress up the general standings has continued as he has moved from 5th to 4th on GC. Furthermore, on a day when Dunbar said there was a fantastic atmosphere in his team on the race, his team mate Filippo Zana claimed stage victory.
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The downside from an Irish perspective today was Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) struggling when the racing was really on during the first climb. While he was trying to defend his king of the mountains jersey, he was one of the riders distance at that point. And though he fought back on, his rival of the jersey - Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) made the breakaway and collected enough points today to take the classification lead back off stage 8 winner Healy and we'll have more on Healy a little later.
In the general classification battle, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) had distanced Dunbar - and Roglič - on his way to winning Tuesday's stage 17. But today the Portuguese rider had to back off on the penultimate climb, after Sepp Kuss (Jumbo Visma) has shred the peloton to a select group before just five or six riders remained at the front. Almeida drifted off the back of the last four men standing from the select group - Thomas, Dunbar and Jumbo Visma's Roglič and Kuss - on the second-last climb of the Coi.
Dunbar and Kuss were then next to lose contact, though after Roglič and Thomas had ridden away from them, Kuss then attacked Dunbar in a bid to get up to his team leader to offer assistance. That was the way the riders were scattered on the road as they came down a brief descent before the start of the final climb to the line.
Jay Vine was pacing team leader Almeida and while they caught Dunbar - and then Vine nearly caused all three to crash on the descending section - they began that last climb within 20 seconds of Roglič and Thomas. As Vine fell away somewhat, Almeida enjoyed a strong ride up the last climb, distancing Dunbar.
Meanwhile, up ahead of all of the general classification men, six survivors from the early breakaway were battling it out for stage honours. Dunbar's team mate, and Italian champion, Filippo Zana, pulled clear with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama) and beat him in the two-up sprint for victory.
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That was an incredible win for the 24-year-old, wearing the Italian champion's livery and in his first season as a World Tour rider; victorious towards the end of a Giro where he has given so much for Dunbar.
Warren Barguil (Team Arkéa Samsic) rounded out the top three today, at 50 seconds, with Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) 4th at 1:03. Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën Team) and Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) were 5th and 6th, both at 1:24.
Then came Roglič and Thomas, 7th and 8th, at 1:56. Almeida, who rallied really well on the final climb, was 9th shipping 21 seconds to his two general classification rivals. Dunbar placed 10th, a further 15 seconds back.
That result was enough to lift Dunbar above 4th placed overall this morning, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), as the Italian rider was 13th today, some 25 seconds behind Dunbar. With a hard summit finish to come tomorrow, it is very likely more gaps will emerge, though Dunbar continues to look rock solid and is riding out of his skin.
Behind him now there are bigger gaps and his top four place - which he always looked on course for - appears more assured. Caruso is still in striking distance of the Irishman, just one place and 12 seconds back. However, it is hard to see the big Italian living with the Irishman tomorrow.
After that, Lennard Kämna (Bora-hansgrohe) is 6th, some 48 seconds down on Dunbar while Pinot is now 8th, 1:04 off the Irishman.
Tomorrow’s stage 19 – 183km from Longarone to Tre Cime di Lavaredo - includes five categorised crimes. It finishes on the 7.1km HC climb to the line, which averages 7.8 per cent but featuring 3km above 10 per and the final 2km at 14 per cent.
