Eddie Dunbar and Sam Bennett go into this week’s UAE Tour facing significant, though different, challenges.
For Bennett it will a chance to test himself in the
sprints against a blue chip field as many of the best fast men in the world
will be in the Middle East.
Dunbar goes into the race looking for his first pro win
and in very good form with climbing opportunities to come.
His Team Ineos squad will also welcome back Chris Froome into
competitive action for the first time since his Critérium du Dauphiné TT recon
crash last June.
While Froome’s return will be eagerly awaited, it will be interesting to see how much leeway the team gives an in-form Dunbar racing in the same line-up as Froome.
The second stage of the race finishes up Hatta Dam and while it is an incline that can suit sprinters, the climbers should also be in the mix and it’s a climb that can suit an explosive climber like Dunbar.
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On the following day the riders face a pure climbing test
in the 10.8km Jebel Hafeet while the same climb will also be faced two days
later.
It means if Dunbar is to challenge overall he needs to keep himself in contention on the stage 2 finish and then climb well on stages 3 and 5 on terrain that suits him best.
He has already ridden very well on the climbs this year, placing 5th and 6th on stages at Tour de la Provence and finishing the race 6th overall.
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) won the race last year and
while he is not back to defend his title there is no shortage of potential
winners of the climbing stages and the overall.
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These include Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), Alejandro
Valverde (Movistar), Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb), Tadej
Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Wout Poels (Bahrain McLaren), Giulio Ciccone (Trek
Segafredo) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).
If Dunbar is given a free reign by his team, it should be exciting for him to pit himself against the others on a race that has now dropped its TT and features two proper climbing stages rather than the usual one.
On the days Irish fans won’t be watching Dunbar, all eyes
will be on Sam Bennett of Deceuninck-QuickStep.
He won the final stage of this race last year; his second victory of the season at the time. This time around he already has two victories in the bag from his racing stint in Australia.
Bennett should get his chance in the sprints on stage 1,
probably stage 2 on Hatta Dam, stage 4 and stages 6 and 7.
It looks like an incredible opportunity for Bennett to
turn his early season form into more victories. Like Eddie Dunbar on the
climbs, Bennett will face stiff opposition in the sprints.
It will be the first time he goes up against former team
mate Pascal Ackerman of Bora-hansgrohe since Bennett left the squad in the off
season.
Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) is also riding as is Mark
Cavendish (Bahrain-McLaren), Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo Visma), Fernando Gaviria
(UAE Emirates) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal).
Like Bennett, some of the other sprinters have started
the season in winning form; Groenewegen with two wins so far, Gaviria with
three and Ewan with three.
The seven-stage race, which starts on Sunday, should
prove a feast of racing for Irish fans as Dunbar and Bennett can really excel.
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