Eddie Dunbar hasn't had much luck so far this season but things appear to be looking brighter and the Irishman is now eyeing his next races after a prolonged injury lay-off.
His new team, Jayco AlUla, had told stickybottle he hoped to return to action at the one-day Milano-Torino (1.Pro) in Italy tomorrow, Wednesday. After that, in another change for his original schedule, he was expected to ride Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (2.UWT), starting next Monday.
Dunbar intended to use Catalunya as preparation for leading his new team into Giro d'Italia in May. Some of the Giro's biggest contenders will be on the star line in Catalunya, including world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), who dominated Tirreno Adriatico with three stage wins and overall victory.
However, Dunbar's return after fracturing his left hand in a crash in his first race this year has proven more complicated than expected. He required surgery on his hand, which was carried out last week.
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He will not press ahead with his plan to ride Catalunya and while he was now working towards a return to racing, his team told stickybottle it was not yet clear when that first race would be.
However, Dunbar has said his surgery was successful and that he was training on the home trainer and looking forward to getting back into racing action as soon as possible.
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"Been off the road longer than anticipated with my broken hand but we’re getting there," he said on social media. "Successful surgery last week and nearly time to rumble again. Just a few more turbo sessions to get through."
The 26-year-old was riding his first race for Team Jayco AlUla when he crashed last month on the opening stage of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (2.Pro). While he got back on his bike and finished stage 1, he did not start the following day due to persistent pain in his hand.
Initial X-rays were clear for broken bones, though further medical examinations have now detected a small fracture to his hand as a result of the crash. And while he had hoped to race UAE Tour, he was forced into a longer period on the sidelines, with surgery also required.
