Eddie Dunbar on podium again, now takes aim at 'Baby Giro'
Eddie Dunbar was denied a big win yesterday in a 1.2-ranked race in Italy called the GP Industria and Commercio. Nicola Conci got the verdict with Australian Jai Hindley pipping Dunbar for second.
By Brian Canty
It was a bittersweet weekend for Eddie Dunbar’s Axeon Hagens Berman team. The Irishman and a team mate took great results but another of riders was very seriously injured in a crash.
Winner of the U23 Tour of Flanders two weeks ago, Dunbar was 3rd in the 1.2-ranked GP Industria & Commercio in Italy yesterday. And he took the climbers' prize in the same race.
His team landed a stage win at the Tour of the Gila via Jonathan Narvaez.
But the successes proved insignificant in the context of what happened to their teammate in the US stage race.
Advertisement
Chad Young, a talented up-and-coming rider from New Hampshire, was involved in a high-speed crash while descending a mountain during the final stage of the Tour of the Gila.
Young was chasing back on after being part of an early 18-man breakaway that split up on the day’s climbs.
He, along with teammate Edward Anderson, went down on the descent along with at least four others.
Anderson was treated by race medical staff for minor injuries and finished the stage. But Young’s injuries were far more severe.
Related News
According to the team, Young was “life-flighted to a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where he was listed in stable condition, with severe facial injuries.”
Team manager Axel Merckx added: “At this point, we simply ask everyone in the cycling community to please keep Chad in their thoughts and prayers.”
Dunbar was the man of the race in Italy on Sunday, with two devastating attacks in the final of the 171.8km event.
The finishing circuit included a tough 1.1km ramp and the Irishman attacked on it on the penultimate lap.
The peloton split to pieces, with Dunbar pulling 13 others away with him. And when he did the same on the final passage of the same climb on three men could live with him.
Local rider Nicola Conci (Zalf Euromobil Désirée Fior) took victory from Jai Hindley (Australia) and Dunbar.
"I knew the quickest guy of us four was the one who actually won," Dunbar said.
"So basically, it was matter of getting in the right position to challenge him. I was coming up fast between him and the Australian rider and just about caught them."
"I am going to go back home now, take it easy and get refreshed for my next race,” he said of the Ronde de l'Isard from May 18th to 21st in France.
“And then the Baby Giro after that. I thought my spring went pretty well.
“Obviously, winning Flanders was a big result that took some of the pressure off for the rest of the season.
“I am still going to work hard and all, but when you are riding well, the results come naturally."
Topics
