Eddie Dunbar, in the white jersey of young rider classification leader, in the middle of the Team Ineos formation on stage 3 in France today.
Eddie Dunbar put in a very strong ride on stage 3 of La Route d'Occitanie in France today but was forced to relinquish his lead in the young rider classification.
The Irishman climbed with the very best again, as he had done on Thursday's opening stage.
But when his Team Ineos team mate Ivan Sosa and Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) attacked on the final climb, race leader Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) dragged himself across to the two leaders.
Dunbar was with Valverde, sitting in his wheel, when Sosa and Uran took flight. But when the Spanish veteran gradually upped the pace inside the last 1.5km, Dunbar lost some ground.
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At the end of the 173km queen stage from Arreau to Luchon-Hospice de France, Sosa beat Valverde in a sprint to win.
Just three seconds behind them came Uran in 3rd, with Dunbar back in 7th place some 35 seconds down.
After losing contact with Valverde, Dunbar was then caught and passed by Óscar Rodríguez (Euskadi Murias), who was 4th at 20 seconds, as well as Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First) and Tony Gallopin (Ag2R-La Mondiale) who were 5th and 6th at 24 seconds.
However, while the young Irishman slipped from 2nd overall - after finishing 2nd to Valverde on the opening stage - to 5th, he still put in a very impressive performance today.
Movistar and EF Education First pulled hard on the front on a very hilly course to bring back the breakaway in the final hour of racing.
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That move featured Dunbar's team mate Pavel Sivakov and Nans Peters, the AG2R-La Mondiale rider who took a Giro mountain stage.
As the peloton gained on the breakaway it was trimmed down to a select group that numbered just 10 riders on the upper slopes of the final 10.9km climb to the finish line.
And when four men eventually pulled clear of that 10-man group, Dunbar was one of the four.
Though Sosa, Uran and Valverde were stronger than Dunbar when the attacking started from the last four men standing, the Irishman is riding out of his skin of late.
Tomorrow's final stage is a lumpy 154.8m circuit race littered with short sharp climbs into Clermont-Pouyguillès.
And though it is not as hard as today's stage was, the Team Ineos young guns are well placed to have a good go at Valverde, who was strong today but did not look untouchable.
Sosa is now 2nd overall after his stage win today and is just eight seconds off Valverde; the young Colombian also leading the young rider classification.
Dunbar is now 5th at 45 seconds and Sivakov is 8th, though at 2:26 he looks out of the general classication hunt.
However, that Team Ineos trio will hopefully look to animate tomorrow's final stage where Dunbar would dearly loved to take his first international pro win.
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