Irish cyclist Eddie Dunbar secured overall victory in the prestigious Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in Italy to claim the first professional race of his career.
The 25-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider began the final day of the five-stage event, a hilly 160km trek from Castalguidi to Cantagrillo, with a nine-second lead over team-mate Ben Tullett.
Despite repeated attacks, the Corkman negotiated the stage won by Czech cyclist Josef Cerny, which included several climbs and three ascents of the Mungherino near the end, to take victory with an overall time of 16.37.00'.
Tullett was second overall in a 1-2 for Ineos, with Swiss rider Marc Hirschi third, 24 seconds adrift of Dunbar.
The moment when you can celebrate your first professional win 💪
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) March 26, 2022
Congratulations @EddieDunbar 👏 pic.twitter.com/Ji2rCOjfuJ
Dunbar, whose contract with the Ineos team expires at the end of this season, becomes the first Irish cyclist to win a stage race since Nicolas Roche claimed the Route du Sud eight years ago.
Dunbar displayed his pedigree with victory in the under-23 Tour of Flanders in 2017.
In 2019 he claimed a third-place finish on a Giro d'Italia stage and finished 12th overall in last year’s Tour de Suisse.
