By Shane Stokes
The Tour de France may have traditionally been the time when contracts were negotiated and deals struck, but Eddie Dunbar’s withdrawal from the race on Saturday shouldn’t leave him short for 2025.
The Corkman’s two stage wins in last year’s Vuelta a España already underlined his quality and Dunbar told stickybottle in recent days that he is looking good for next season.
“I have a solid option there,” he said, essentially confirming that he has been given a good offer. “Obviously it’s a busy time of year for everyone in terms of contracts. I think there’s a lot of moving around on the market this year.
"It’s a still a little bit undecided what’s going to happen for next year. But I think by the first of August or whenever it comes out, I definitely have something lined up.
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“For now I just need to focus on the Tour and get that done. The rest will kind of take care of itself.”
Dunbar’s debut Tour lasted a lot less than he had intended, with a fall inside the final 6km of Friday’s stage leaving him with a troubling wrist injury.
Although initial x-rays were clear, the discomfort he felt on Saturday morning and the need for safety considerations relating to steering and braking led to the decision not to start the stage.
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It was a big blow, not least because he was riding so well. Dunbar took fourth on Thursday, having been in the same breakaway as the victorious Irishman Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost).
It seemed reasonable to think other stage-winning opportunities would happen as the race continued, not least because team leader Ben O’Connor’s GC campaign had fizzled out and that stage wins would be the new objective for Team Jayco AlUla.
Dunbar has been with that team for two and a half years and his current contract will come to an end in December.
Now 28, he is entering the best years of his career and will want a good deal for 2026 and beyond. Had Dunbar had no options at this point in time, his DNF from the Tour would be even more serious.
However, as he pointed out, the old pattern of deals being determined at the race is no longer the rule.
“A few years ago, it used to be a case of things only being done on some rest days of the Tour,” he said. “But now you see guys signing in February, March. There’s no pattern to it anymore. It’s a bit all over the place.
“There’s obviously this thing now where teams are signing juniors from a young age, and guys are getting long contracts. So this has all like an effect on the market, and obviously it would have effect as well on team budgets when you’re signing riders for this length of time.
“There’s a lot of waiting and things like that goes on now. But as I said, I won’t have to wait too long, thankfully. It’s not a bad position to be in.”
