Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) has been pipped on the line for a second stage win at Giro d'Italia, with Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates) proving too strong for him in the final sprint to the line after a tense finale into Bergamo.
Just behind them, Irishman Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) played another blinder in the finale, making the front section when the favourites' group split on a very late small climb. While the group came back together right on the line, Dunbar positioned himself perfectly for the ascent, making sure he was with the big names when they pulled away from the others.
Up front, the large breakaway split on the Roncola Alta, the 10km cat 2 climb crested some 31.5km from the finish. Healy proved strongest on that climb, attacking and pulling clear solo with 34km to go. He led solo going over the top but McNulty had begun to close up to him, with Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) doing a fantastic job just behind them trying to stay in contention.
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McNulty joined Healy on the descent and Frigo, who was definitely the weakest of the trio, soon caught them, making for a trio to negotiate the final flan run in to the line. Healy attacked a couple of times before McNulty and Frigo jumped away, looking for a time like they were working over the Irish rider.
Healy went for broke once again up the final climb - an uncategorised leg-sapping 1.3km ascent just before the finish - but he could not shake off McNulty, a quality rider who ensured there was no repeat of Healy's stage 8 when he rode the final 51km solo to win.
Frigo never stopped fighting today and even though he was significantly dropped on the final small climb, he fought his way back up to McNulty and Healy once more, catching them with just 500m to go. And in the sprint to the line, it was Frigo who went first, opening a gap on the other two.
Healy strained to close that gap, and eventually did, but McNulty was in the Irishman's wheel just waiting to pull the trigger. And while Healy ran him very close, McNulty came around him to win. Behind the top three today, nine of the original breakaway men hung on to fill the minor placings.
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Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Einer Augusto Rubio (Movistar Team) finishing together, 4th and 5th, some 1:51 down.
The general classification group - numbering just eight riders - were led in by João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), some 6:53 down on the stage winner. In that group were the strongest men in the race, including Dunbar.
The second half of the favourites' group - another 10 riders - closed right up on the line, but a two-second gap was still recorded. That split occurred on the final small climb in Bergamo, where Dunbar hit the front early - positioning himself perfectly - before Almeida put the hammer down and caused the split.
Race leader Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) did not make either Dunbar's group or the secondary group just behind, losing touch on the final small climb. However, he rode flat out to the finish and did enough to hold the race lead. This morning he led overall by 1:41 from Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in 2nd place and while that advantage is reduced to 1:08, the French domestique still leads.
For Dunbar, he stays in 8th place but today he left behind some of the men he is competing in the top 10 GC battle. And though they only lost two seconds, it was notably Dunbar was among the eight strongest when the group split in the finale.
Barring an implosion - which seems highly unlikely - the Cork man is going to finish in the top 10 on this race. And if his form holds, his race could become on for a top five placing, which would be an incredible ride, especially after an injury-hit early season.
There is still a long way to go, and the third weeks is the hardest of the race, but Dunbar will be at home in the high mountains and some of those ahead of him - including former race leader Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) and perhaps Lennard Kämna (Bora-hansgrohe) - are likely to lose time when the really hard climbing starts.
