Ireland's Sam Bennett just pipped for Giro d'Italia stage win
That's how close it was: Sam Bennett was so close to bridging a 30-year gap for Ireland and taking a stage win at the Giro d'Italia.
Sam Bennett has scorched to another podium finish at the Giro d'Italia.
This time the Irish rider was in a three-man blanket finish for victory at the end of 224km stage 7 from Castrovillari to Alberobello.
Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) got the verdict to take his first ever Grand Tour stage win.
And Fernando Gaviria (QuickStep) was forced into 2nd place having already taken two stage wins on this race.
Carrick-on-Suir's Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) was 3rd.
Sam Bennett has come to this race with one thing on his mind; a stage victory.
A sprint triumph at Paris-Nice earlier this year confirmed his place in the upper echelon of the world’s fastest men.
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Sam Bennett (left), winner Ewan (centre) and Gaviria at the end of today's stage 7 at the Giro d'Italia.
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And having fallen ill with a bug on the eve of the Giro start, he struggled in the first week after a 9th place on the opening stage.
However, he has kept at it and suffered on.
And having finished 3rd into Messina on Wednesday, when Gaviria won, he now has another 3rd place to his name.
There was nothing in it at the finish between the top three men today.
And while Ewan got it by about half a wheel a photo finish was needed to decide the order of the next two home.
Sam Bennett will be frustrated at coming so close, but he can take great encouragement from the excellent job his team did in the final 10km.
After the early escape was swept up, the Bora-hansgrohe train kept Bennett close to the front.
And in the final kilometre the team’s stage 1 winner Lukas Postlberger put in a huge turn to string out the field.
It was then the turn of Rüdiger Selig to take over; the 28-year-old German showing some real grunt to bully space on the twisty finishing straight so Bennett could let fly.
In the end the Irishman just about came up short.
But on the basis of his continuing recovery from illness, his current form and the excellent team work being put into him, a victory is surely not far away.
More to follow.
Stage 7: Castrovillari - Alberobello (224km)
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott 5:35:18
2 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
3 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
4 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
5 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
6 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
7 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo @2secs
8 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
9 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
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