McNulty wins stage 15 of Giro d'Italia in sprint finish

American Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates held off Ben Healy and Marco Frigo to win stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, after a 195km ride from Seregno to Bergamo.

McNulty turned on the afterburners with a perfectly-timed sprint to race past Healy (EF Education-Easy Post) and Frigo (Israel–Premier Tech) in the final 100m to snatch victory.

Healy finished second, ahead of Frigo, who appeared to drop off the pace but exerted a superhuman effort in the home straight to finish inches short of a stage win.

A group of 15 riders, including former Giro d'Italia stage winner Alberto Dainese, built an advantage of over 6:30 after the category one ascent in the first half of the race.

Niccolo Bonifazio (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) attacked with just under 50km left, but was quickly reeled in with 35km to go by the trio of Healy, Frigo and McNulty, who never looked back.

Monday is a rest day on the Giro. Tuesday's stage 16 is mountainous 203-km ride from Sabbio Chiese to Monte Bondone, with over 5,000 metres of elevation.