Eddie Dunbar brings a long season to an end next week at the World Championships in Doha where he will ride the time-trial and road race. The young Corkman has improved every aspect of his game in 2016 and can go there confident of more good results (Photo: George Doyle)
By Brian Canty
Eddie Dunbar has set himself no targets other than to be as aggressive as possible in his final two races of the season next week; the U23 time trial and road race at the World Championships.
The 20-year-old Corkman departs for Doha this Friday as part of the 12-strong Irish team, an end-of-year engagement he's had for the last three years.
Since 2013 he’s been a player in one of the sport’s biggest weeks, pinning on race numbers in Florence, Ponferrada and Richmond.
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Last year he rode a strong to finish top 30 in the time-trial and a few days later he’d animate the road race by spending much of the afternoon up the road in the breakaway.
He eventually dropped out of that escape but it was a valuable experience – and a steep learning curve.
Dunbar was in countless breaks in the US this year and as well as being able to sniff out the right moves on several occasions he was never found wanting when up the road.
The courses for next week is one for he would not have chosen for himself; flat and fast and one for the sprinters.
But in a perverse way, he’s looking forward to that because nothing is expected of a flyweight climber on the windy, exposed plains.
He’s spent the last week training with Irish teammate Matt Teggart in Majorca and though not feeling amazing, he reckons he’s in decent nick.
“I’m not too bad, obviously at the end of the season, going out training in October is something I’ve never done before so it’s unknown territory.
“I don’t feel desperate by any means but I don’t feel amazing… I’ll find out soon enough,” he chuckled.
Because of his climbing prowess it's easy to overlook Dunbar's TT riding. But he is the current U23 Irish champion and won the junior title. His recent 6th in the European Championships shows he can be world class against the watch on a course that suits him (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Dunbar will ride the U23 time-trial on Monday with Michael O’Loughlin also in action while three days later he’ll do the road race with O’Loughlin, Daire Feeley and Teggart.
“I have a lot more TT work done this year compared to last; it’s obviously important to get your position a bit more aero.
"And I’ve been working a lot on that so hopefully it’ll stand to me," said the current U23 and former junior Irish TT champion.
“I don’t really know what to expect. I’ll go out and try to hold a good pace.
“There’ll be big lads there pushing 56 or 58 chainrings and rolling over at 50k an hour over 25k no bother…
“It’ll be difficult but if I have a good day I think I can do top 15, that’d be really good.
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“On a course like that it’d be a really good result,” he added.
Dunbar in action during the U23 Tour of Flanders in Belgium back in April, a race he would finish top 20 in.
The Axeon Hagens Berman rider has had a very good year and top 20 GC rides at Utah and Alberta are as good as his An Post Rás stage win in May.
But sixth in the European U23 TT championships was right up there as well.
“That course suited me a lot more but this is a pan flat course in Doha," he said of the French Euros course.
"But, as I said, if I’ve a good day you never know what might happen. I didn’t know how I was going into the Euros.
“I was obviously just back from Alberta and did a lot of travelling but I was in Plumelec on the Saturday and the TT was the following Tuesday so I was on the course every day.
“I paced that effort very well on the day and then I did what I could. I was fourth quickest at the intermediate checkpoint so I dropped two places.
"But I was happy to be only 25 seconds off the bronze in a European champs. It shows I’m improving.”
For the Doha road race, Dunbar knows no other way than to be aggressive.
In the breakaway at last year's U23 road race at the Worlds in the US; Dunbar is hoping to get up the road again in Doha. And with his biggest year so far in his legs since Richmond he may go even better this time around (Photo: Sirotti)
And given he has little chance of winning the expected bunch sprint he’s just going to try and pick the right move and get in a break.
“We’ll just go in and see what happens, it’s going to be a 150k crit really. There’s a lot of talk of crosswind but personally I don’t think it will be.
“The wind could change, but it's gonna be a full on bunch sprint," he predicted of how the title would be decided.
"There are four or five strong teams with sprinters and teams that can control the race so we’ll just go in and be aggressive and see.”
Having recently re-signed for Axeon Hagens Berman again Dunbar is under no pressure going into 2017.
So after the road race he plans to take a few weeks off, take some rest and plan again for 2017, most likely in Girona.
“I had a good year and I learnt a lot from riders and the staff at Axeon," he said of what is a very hot trade team for young riders at present.
“There's such a good atmosphere in the team, a good few riders are leaving so there’ll be new ones coming in.
"But It’ll be another good year I’m sure and hopefully as successful as this year.”
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