Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) finished in the peloton today to complete was has proven to be a problem-free ride towards the start of the big show tomorrow; the first summit finish of Giro d'Italia 2023.
The final climb of Gran Sasso, a cat 1, comes at the end of 218km of racing and is 26.5km long, averaging 3.4 per cent gradient. It is the hardest ascent of the first half of the race and it should offer a real indication of who will fill the top 10 places in the final general classification, which Dunbar is aiming for.
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) again lost time today, finishing some 13:54 down on the bunch. That means he has now lost enough time, and some, to be given leeway to go in the breakaway - a privilege not afforded to him when he attacked repeatedly on stage 4.
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Today's stage - some 162km starting and finishing in Naples - was won by Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) in a bunch sprint from Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) and Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates). Dunbar finished in 36th place while Healy was 134th.
Simon Clarke (Israel Premier Tech) and Alessandro de Marchi (Team Jayco AlUla) survived from the early breakaway until the final 200m today, after an especially strong ride through the final 20km. However, though they should have made it all the way, Clarke was the much faster finisher of the pair. As a result, De Marchi messed about in a bid to force Clarke to work harder, with that undermining their cooperation and ultimately resulting in them being caught within sight of the line.
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After finishing in the bunch today, Dunbar remains 13th overall, some 2:15 down on race leader Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM), who is expected to lose the race lead tomorrow. The Norwegian is one of three or four riders currently ahead of Dunbar on the general classification who are expected to drop out of the top 10 tomorrow.
However, the bigger question for the Irishman is how he will climb tomorrow compared to the biggest names, including Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), among others. Dunbar's team has already won a stage, with Michael Matthews, and the pressure is off a little.
However, the team has also signed Dunbar as a Grand Tour team leader and tomorrow is the first test in that regard. He is not under immense pressure to ride out of his socks at this race - especially after a crash-interrupted early season. However, he must at least demonstrate he can be a contender at some point and that project starts tomorrow.
With six days of fatigue now in the legs - many of those miles in wet conditions - tomorrow's finish is a big test, with now descent or flat run-in to a finish line to get back into a group. Dunbar demonstrated at Tour de Romandie the week before last his form was improving - with 9th on the queen stage and 9th overall - and he'll be hoping he will be even better tomorrow.
The stage is also one where Healy may play a role. The final climb - though it is very tough - would be within Healy's reach, from the right breakaway and with a big enough advantage as the climb begins.
