Eddie Dunbar should have a very good chance of taking results, possibly even his first pro win, when he lines out at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali (2.1) in Italy this week.
The 24-year-old Irishman, now in his third year with Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky, is in the same team selection and Ivan Sosa and that will hopefully not limit him too much.
While Sosa has already won a stage and the overall at Tour de la Provence, Dunbar also showed good form so far this year despite a longer off-season than he expected after a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico last September brought his 2020 campaign to an end early.
Two weeks ago he was 9th in the hilly GP Industria & Artigianato (1.Pro) and this week in Italy he faces into a number of stages that can really suit him. Furthermore, while the field assembled this week is a strong one, most of the big names are missing.
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Dunbar finished in the main bunch on this morning's opening stage, which ended in a mass sprint, with a TTT to follow in the afternoon when his team stayed in touch with their rivals. However, with today now out of the way the route in coming days can really suit him as it is littered with climb.
Tomorrow’s stage 2 is 163km from Riccione
to Sogliano al Rubicone and features a finishing circuit with a climb - 3.1km
at 6.4 per cent - and with the finish line at the top of the hill on the fifth
ascent.
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Thursday’s stage 3 – some 145km starting
and finishing in Riccione - contains bigger climbs, though the finale of the
stage is relatively flat.
The first 55km is mostly uphill and
includes the 9km HC climb of Monte Carpegna Cielo del Pirata, averaging 9.6 per
cent. After the descent the riders then climb again, for 10.8km, with that
climbing stretch including the cat 1 Villaggio del Lago, which is 9.2km and
averages 6.1 per cent.
Once the field descends from that climb
the riders must negotiate three small climbs, one after the other, before the
final one of those – some 2.5km at 10 per cent – is crested almost 30km from
the finish.
And while there are two very short climbs
just before the final 10km, the hardest climbing will be behind the riders at
that point. However, it is a tough day out and if Dunbar, Sosa and their young
Spanish team mate Carlos Rodriguez are feeling good they could do some serious
damage.
Friday’s stage 4 features two cat 1
climbs before the race reaches the finishing circuit with a small climb each lap
– 2.6km at 6.2 per cent – with the finish line at the top of that climb on the
sixth passage.
The final stage on Saturday, on a circuit
based around Forlì, features a climb each lap and may come down to a sprint
from a reduced group.
While many of the climbs are small, they
should at the very least reduce the peloton right down each day and the punchy
climbers like Dunbar would then look to take an opportunity, especially on the
uphill finishes.
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