Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) joined the senior ranks a few years ago and quickly broke into the top 10 overall, but the leap to the top step was difficult, and the Irish rider's victory in the five-stage Settimana Coppi e Bartali was more significant The Irishman's victory in the five-stage Settimana Coppi e Bartali was all the more significant.

Dunbar established himself near the top of the GC standings by finishing second in the first stage of the Italian race in a two-man sprint with Mauro Schmidt (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl), who came from behind. In the second stage, he finished in the lead group of 17 riders and took the lead.

Dunbar held the lead position for the remaining three stages, not only winning his first professional race, but also his first stage race victory of the season for the Ineos Grenadiers. In addition, teammate Ben Tourette also finished on the podium, making it a 1-2 finish for the Ineos Grenadiers.

"Everyone worked really hard this past week. I controlled today's stage from start to finish and it was great. I want to thank everyone who believed in me and supported me over the past few days. I finally got the win and I want to say thank you to everyone and my crew.

"We set a goal from day one to show that we are a strong team. It was a super week for us and for Ben it was his first pro win and second in GC. He got his first pro win and second on GC." [Josef Cerny and Remi Cavagna took the top two places for Quick Step Alphavinil at the finish line in Cantagrigio.

Dunbar has been with the British team since late 2018, when Aqua Blue Sports folded. While racing for the Irish team, he secured fourth place at the 2018 Tour of Baloise Belgium and an overall podium finish at the Tour de Yorkshire in 2019 with Team Sky. In the next two seasons, he continued his solid GC run, finishing sixth overall at the 2020 Tour de la Provence and 12th overall at the 2021 Tour de Suisse, but it took until this week to push back to the podium, and then to the top step.

"I've been with the team for a few years now and we all know how much this means to me. I knew that I could be in the GC range in the race, and I knew that if I had a good run, I would be able to compete in a race like this." Everything went well this week.

Dunbar said he will now focus on enjoying this victory.

"It's important to move on from here," he told Cycling Pro Net online after the race.