Eddie Dunbar discusses switching from riding based on power meter to old school riding on feel (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
Eddie Dunbar recorded another eye-catching result at the World Road Championships that demonstrates his continued improvement as an all-round rider.
Ninth in the time-trial might not have managers of top pro teams screaming for his signature just yet but the maturity he showed to ride on feel as opposed to riding on power was noteworthy.
For some of his biggest results and best performances Dunbar has ridden according to how he feels.
It got out very well for him in the Doha race against the clock, though he did get a scare along the way.
“I was just going around (a corner) and the Aussie guy (Callum Scotson) almost had me at 10k,” he recalled of his horror when his minute man was on his tail inside the first 15 minutes.
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“I was watching my power and I thought ‘well if he’s catching me I need to start moving’.
"So I went down a few gears and went on feel and finished very strongly.”
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Both Dunbar, above, and fellow U23 Irish rider Michael O'Loughlin have progressed hugely in the last year or two but they remain grounded and relaxed (Photo with thanks to Martin O'Loughlin)
Dunbar was 1’21” slower than Germany’s gold medal winner Marco Mathis.
But he was well ahead of some WorldTour-bound men like Danish strongman Mads Pedersen – a man who has claimed some massive scalps this year and is set to ride for Trek-Segafredo next year.
“I was pleased, I thought going in on a course like that a top 15 would have been solid, so to go away with a top 10 I was fairly happy, I must say.
“The heat wasn’t something I was worried about, I’ve raced in that heat before and never seemed to have gone too badly.
“I knew I’d be able to get through it," he continued of his 28.9km TT in temperatures in the high 30s
“Obviously power was a bit down but that was the same for everyone, everyone adapts differently to it and I adapted fairly well and had a good ride.
“My coach John Sharples was giving me specific work for it and we knew there was nothing over 2-3 minutes where you could stay on the power.
“You were holding power, you’d take a break, you’d hold a high power again.
"So on the straight you were probably going a bit harder than you normally would and spend quite some time above threshold.
I can’t push the bigger gears but I just adapted well.”
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