Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) slipped a little on the final monster climb of Giro d'Italia today but the Irishman dug deep to stay in the fight, with a career best result now hopefully just ahead of him with tomorrow's TT to come.
While Dunbar has been next best to the top three in the race on the biggest climbs so far, that changed a little today as he drifted off the back of the general classification group on the summit finish. With about 2km remaining of the brutally steep Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and with the GC group still numbering eight riders, a grimacing Dunbar was jettisoned.
His biggest problem at that point was the man just behind him in the overall standings, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), was still in the group and riding away. And as Caruso was only one placing, and 12 seconds, behind Dunbar this morning, that was a real moment of crisis for the Irish cyclist.
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As Dunbar was distanced by the GC men, their group was led by Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), from his team mate and race leader, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers). The Jumbo Visma duo of Sepp Kuss and Primož Roglič were also there as well as Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and Einer Rubio (Movistar Team).
As well as Caruso being so close to Dunbar in the overall, Pinot was only 1:04 off the Irishman setting out today and Arensman 1:14. It meant Dunbar - who has had the race of his life on this Giro - was in danger of dropping for 4th this morning to perhaps 6th or 7th, though thankfully only lost one place in the end.
He battled all the way up the final climb, getting some held from team mate Michael Hepburn - who was coming backwards from the early breakaway. On the way to the line, in the GC group Almeida took it up, then Roglič attacked, followed by Thomas and Roglič again.
All those moves put more daylight between the best riders and Dunbar, but it also dropped the likes of Caruso and Pinot, meaning they were no longer being towed away from the Irish rider and had to do it all themselves.
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Many of the earlier breakaway men were still up the road when those GC attacks began, with Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) and Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) leading and some 2:35 ahead of the maglia rosa group on their way to 1st and 2nd on the stage. Buitrago won by 51 seconds from breakaway specialist Gee. Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) was 3rd at 1:46.
Cort was caught on the line by Roglič, who managed to gap Thomas by three seconds even though the Welshman had dropped the Slovenia by a few lengths deep into the final kilometre. Almeida was next, 20 seconds behind Thomas.
In the end, Dunbar was 13th on the stage, some 3:03 down on the winner, and losing just 1:17 to the best of the GC men in the final, Roglič. While that may seem like a lot to lose in 2km, it could have been much worse given the gradients, the altitude above 2,000 metres and the fatigue in the legs as the three-week race nears an end.
Caruso finished in 7th on today's stage, on the same time as Almeida, 6th, and Arensman in 8th; some 54 seconds up on Dunbar. Pinot was 9th and gained 47 seconds on Dunbar, meaning only Caruso moved up over the Irishman overall; the Italian back up to 4th with Dunbar moving down one place to 5th.
Today Irish rider Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), who has been so impressive on Grand Tour debut and won stage 8 with a 50km solo move, finished back in 52nd place at 20:25. While this last week is really testing him, he comes out of this race with his reputation further enhanced after his dream spring campaign.
The top three overall - Thomas 26 seconds up on Roglič and 59 seconds up on Almeida - are between three and four minutes ahead of 4th placed Caruso and, barring disaster, they will fill the podium in Rome on Sunday. However, the order of that podium is still in the balance ahead of tomorrow; a stage 20 mountain TT.
Caruso is now 42 seconds up on Dunbar. And behind the Irishman, Pinot is now 6th and within 17 seconds of Dunbar while Arensman is 7th and is 20 seconds off the Irish rider. It means while the order of the top three is still in the balance, so too are places 4th to 7th, though Dunbar should at least hold 5th.
More to come.
