ROME — It was another ray of sunshine from the young UAE Team Emirates riders on another rainy day at the Giro d’Italia.

After the 3rd place obtained on Sunday by Mikkel Bjerg on the 9th stage of the Corsa Rosa, Wednesday it was the turn of 22- year-old Brandon McNulty.

McNulty finished 2nd on the treacherous 10th stage, 177 km from Lanciano to Tortoreto, with the final made particularly tough with five selective climbs before 9 kms of flatland towards the finish.

The stage was won by Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), who foiled the days breakaway before dropping them all to arrive alone at the finish, while all his escape companions were caught and overtaken by the group of the pink jersey, Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step).

On the finishing straight and with just 3km left to ride, McNulty broke from the group, gaining a few hundred meters that allowed him to get the 2nd place of the day, 19” from the winner and 4” ahead of the pink jersey Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step).

In the overall standings, the American from UAE Team Emirates now occupies the 13th position at 2’39” from the top.

McNulty: “I got a puncture on one of the steep climbs and I had a long chase back on. It was a reduced group and no one had a teammate so I knew that if I could get a jump on the group then.

“I could stay clear and that’s exactly what happened. I knew I was close to Sagan — the stage win would have been nice but also second place on the stage is incredible.

“Every day is possibly the last day here, so everyone is all-in everyday. We hope to continue but safety is the most important thing for all the riders and also all of Italy.”

The 11th stage, Porto Sant’Elpidio to Rimini (182 km), will offer the sprinters an opportunity and will also prove a test for Fernando Gaviria who was involved in a fall and suffered a severe bruise on his elbow but escaped any fractures.

Stage 10 results: 1. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 4:01:56; 2. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) +19”; 3. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +23”

General classification after the 10th stage: 1. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 39:38:05; 2. Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) +34 ”; 3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) + 43 ”; 13. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) + 2’39” — SG