Eddie Dunbar rode a great stage 12 at the Giro but he said afterwards he was looking for more.
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar has expressed his disappointment at
missing a stage win at the Giro today when he placed 3rd.
He went clear in the 25-man breakaway, with fellow Irishman Conor Dunne (Israel Cycling Academy) on stage 12.
And when the large escape came down to just eight riders in
the finale, after a cat 1 climb with just over 40km to go, Dunbar was at the
pointy end of the race.
Just
before the finish he escaped with Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo) and Eros
Capecchi (Deceuninck-QuickStep).
However,
while he looked to have the beating of them, Cesare Benedetti (Bora-hansgrohe)
and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Merida) caught the leading trio and were first and
second on the stage.
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The
result was a very strong one for Team Ineos 22-year-old Dunbar. And as the
breakaway gained a huge amount of time he has jumped to 6th in the
young rider classification and is now 28th on the general
classification.
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He
is Team Ineos’s second-best rider overall, just 1:53 down on Pavel Sivakov who
is placed 19th.
“I’m a
bit disappointed really. I felt like I was one of the strongest there. Not one
of the quickest but certainly one of the strongest,” Dunbar said.
“I
gambled in the finish, with Brambilla and Capecchi there. As they were Italian
I thought they would be a bit keener to get to the finish so I gambled on that.
“But then
we got caught by the two guys behind. That’s bike racing. You live and learn.”
He
revealed he had picked his time to attacked on the last climb with just over
2km remaining.
“Going
into the final climb I didn’t feel super and was worried about what gear I was
going to pick,” he said.
“I
thought if I started at the back I’d be able to see who was strong. Normally
guys, when they feel it on a climb like that, they ease back quickly.
“So I
waited, took in who was strong and thought if I could get to the top two I’d
have a chance. I did that, but just came up short.
“In the
end it was who could push the biggest gear. The other guys probably have that
experience on me and extra bit of endurance, but it’s a start for me.”
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