Axel Laurance put in a heroic final-stage effort at Settimana Coppi e Bartali, sprinting to a close second place and narrowly missing out on overall victory.

Holding a slender two-second lead overnight, the Frenchman launched a brave late attack to bridge across to the lead pairing of Jayco AlUla team-mates Mauro Schmid and Alan Hatherley. 

The stage came down to a two-up sprint into Gemona del Friuli, with Schmid edging out the victory and moving into the race lead at the final time of asking. Positions reversed on bonus seconds, with Laurance just two seconds back after a great battle throughout the race.

AJ August was also present at the head of the race in the closing stages, finishing 10th on the stage and securing seventh overall.