Eddie Dunbar will be in action again for Ineos Grenadiers this week when he takes on the Italian one-day race, Trofeo Laigueglia.
At over 200km, and with a hilly finishing circuit to be tackled four times, the race usually splits to pieces with climbers to the fore, though sprinters have occasionally been known to make it to the finish at the front.
The in-form Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck-QuickStep) is in the field and is the type of rider who may be able to get over the climbs and take his chance on what is a flat finish.
However, because so many races have been cancelled this year, some events that would normally be regarded as second-tier races have attracted much better fields than usual and the racing everywhere has been at a very high standard.
Advertisement
The same scenario is likely to apply on Wednesday, when Dunbar will be part of an Ineos Grenadiers line-up that also includes Egan Bernal, Sebastian Henao and Michael Kwiatkowski.
Related News
Gianni Moscon is also in the team as well as Salvatore Puccio and Carlos Rodriguez, the very impressive Spanish rider who has just turned 20-years-old.
The finishing circuit includes two 2km climbs - one at 8.2 per cent and one at 3.4 per cent - and will make for a very hard finale at the end of 202km of racing.
As well as such a strong Ineos Grenadiers team, others who are provisionally scheduled to start include Nairo Quintana (Arkea Samsic), Giulio Ciccone and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek Segafredo), Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ).
Irish eyes will be on 24-year-old Dunbar, who will be riding his second race of the season after making his 2021 debut at Tour de la Provence. He rode strongly there but was confined to team duties as Ivan Sosa won the queen stage and took overall honours.
Topics
