Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) lost minutes today on the first summit finish of La Vuelta 2024, though that may prove a blessing in disguise later in the race, even if we was despondent at the finish.
The 27-year-old finished back in 41st place, some 3:02 down on stage winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and the others in the seven-man lead group. However, while that result would have been a massive blow to Dunbar's Grand Tour effort, the priorities are different this time around.
The Irishman and his team mates are focused on stage wins at this race, rather than putting their eggs in the general classification basket. And the minutes shed by Dunbar today may translate into attacking leeway in the days ahead, though he was clear downbeat at the finish today.
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"It was just warm, I was trying to stay on top of it," Dunbar said of dealing with the soaring temperatures as the road kicked up properly for the first time at the Spanish Grand Tour.
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"We rode very well," he added of his team's performance, with Filippo Zana having battled in the near stage-long breakaway, though said he found the going tough himself.
"I had no legs on that steep climb," he said of the cat 1 Pico Villuercas, a 14.6km mountain with pitches of about 15 per cent in the section between 5km and 2km to go. "I tried to limit my losses, a bit disappointed."
Dunbar is now 38th overall, some 3:34 down on new race leader Roglič. However, his concern about his climbing form today was perhaps more of a concern than his time loss.
Having said that, Dunbar still has plenty of time to ride himself into the race and in a Grand Tour where the field is not absolutely stacked, he would need only one good day on a climbers' stage to make it count.
The fact he has slipped back the field means even those riders and teams riding for a top five to 10 placing in the final general classification will not be concerned if he sneaks away in a breakaway.
