Eddie Dunbar was at the front of the peloton on the really testing climb to the finish. And he would take an excellent result on the finish line. The stage was won by Magnus Cort Nielsen.
Irish rider Eddie Dunbar has ridden impressively on the second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire, placing 12th on the uphill finish.
Robert Jon McCarthy (JLT-Condor) was 88th, some 9:27 down on the day.
Young Ben Walsh, the 18-year-old Irish rider with Vitus Pro Cycling, came through what as a tough day. He was in 115th at 11:25.
And Sean McKenna of Holdsworth Pro Cycling was in 124th place, some 20:41 down.
With plenty of climbs today, the riders faced a tough 1.8km ramp to the finish line in Ilkley.
And at the end of the 149km stage, Dunbar was good enough for 12th in what would prove a climbing drag race to the line.
Advertisement
Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana) proved far too strong for the others and he claimed the stage. The peloton would explode immediately the final climb to the finish began.
Related News
And as it whittled down to a select group before the final sprint, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) was loitering with intent.
The figure of Eddie Dunbar could be seen bobbing around out of the saddle in the background; among a small group just seconds behind the top 10.
When the front of the group got to within a couple of hundred metres of the chequered flag, Cort Nielsen pulled the trigger.
And once he did so the stage was over. He pulled away for what was a decisive win.
Van Avermaet was next, followed by Eduard Prades (Euskadi-Murias) and Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data).
Those top four were all on the same time and then five seconds later Jonathan Hivert was 5th for Direct Energie.
Eddie Dunbar, of Aqua Blue Sport, was in 12th place at 13 seconds.
Topics
