Seth Dunwoody seizes his chance to win at Giro Next Gen | Video

Seth Dunwoody has taken a fantastic stage win at Giro Next Gen, claiming the victory as a first-year U23 making his debut in the race

Seth Dunwoody has taken a fantastic stage win at Giro Next Gen, claiming the victory as a first-year U23 making his debut in the race. It is the Bahrain Victorious Development rider's second victory of the season after also taking the final stage at Circuit des Ardennes (2.2) in April.

Though Dunwoody won major UCI-ranked races in Europe as a junior, including in the UCI Nations Cup series, and was 5th in the junior TT at the Worlds last year, his victory today at Giro Next Gen is by far the biggest of his career.

He had told stickybottle before the race that he was hoping to take his chances on the opening stage TT on Sunday and on Monday's first road stage, though went on to underperform, by his standards, in those.

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However, he more than made up for that today on stage 4 - some 134km from Manerbio to Salsomaggiore Terme - when he got himself into a breakaway that made it all the way and then demolished the final sprint to take the victory.

Dunwoody, second from the back, and his chase group close in on the two early leaders, creating the nine-man group that went to the line (Photo by Fabio Ferrari)

Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) and Liam O'Brien (Lidl Trek Future Racing) both finished safely in the bunch today, some 59 seconds down on winner Dunwoody; in 54th and 69th. There as no change in the overall, with stage 3 winner, Jarno Widar (Lotto Development Team), still in the maglia rosa.

O'Brien is best-placed of the Irish trio after four of the eight stages, in 15th place at 2:33. Rafferty is 20th at 3:09 while stage winner Dunwoody is 124th at 30:11, having lost most of that time on the stage 3 summit finish to Passo del Maniva.

How it was won

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Today, Dunwoody, a 19-year-old from Hamiltonbawn in Co Armagh, was among nine riders who went to the line today, finishing some 59 seconds up on the peloton. He won from runner-up Patrick Boje Frydkjær (Lidl-Trek Future Racing) of Denmark and 3rd placed Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team)

Dunwoody was part of a chase group that got across to the two men who had initially struck out on the 134km stage 4 to Salsomaggiore Terme; Lorenzo Masciarelli (MBH Bank Ballan CSB) and Pierre-Henry Basset (XDS Astana Development Team).

When Dunwoody's seven-man group got across, making for nine up front, the breakaway had 1:30 with 40km. That was just as they began the 8.2km Valico di Sant'Antonio climb. That ascent was crested with 31km to go to the finish. When Dunwoody got over the climb in the breakaway he knew he had a great chance of winning.

The group made it to the finish some 59 seconds clear of the bunch, with the leaders sprinting it out for stage honours and Dunwoody going early to win.

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