Winning the young rider classification in the Tour de
Suisse and placing 12th overall in the race are not normally regarded as the
kind of performances a career might take off from.
But the calibre of Eddie Dunbar’s performance over the
last eight days in Switzerland was about so much more than his final results.
However, that 12th place overall – especially considering
the sheer quality of the field – was a fantastic achievement in itself. Dunbar’s
win in the young rider classification is also very significant as it is so crucial
for developing riders to grab their own results while riding for others.
The biggest take away from the race was the manner of the performance by the 24-year-old Irishman; riding on the front going uphill for kilometre after kilometre when the select group was down to six or eight at times.
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Dunbar was doing damage on the front deep into the final
stage yesterday when the yellow jersey group was down to just six.
Those who couldn’t hold the wheel, to name only two,
included double Paris-Nice winner Max Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe)
and Vuelta podium finisher, and five-time Grand Tour stage winner, Esteban
Chaves (BikeExchange).
Dunbar was clearly on a par with his Ineos Grenadiers
team leader Carapaz on the climbs, his TT performances were better than
expected – and, crucially, good enough to keep him in the GC hunt.
Dunbar is the first rider stickybottle has covered from
the time they were in youth races in Ireland all the way to a performance like
this on a WorldTour team in a top tier race.
It was fantastic to see him reach this level, though it was always in him and, to be fair, he had already ridden very well at times since he turned pro.
But the way he was able to boss the action over the last
week, the control he brought to bear on the front of the race at the hardest
moments and the fact that he got his own results all put his Tour de Suisse
ride on a different level.
After the stage yesterday, Dunbar gave his reaction to
his own performance and his team’s directeur Christian Knees also spoke about
the Irishman.
“I think the main thing was that we kept yellow, and we
did that; the team rode superb today, you know,” Dunbar said after the finish
yesterday.
“We controlled it. Other teams got a bit stressed, with
the guys in the break, so they pulled in the valley and it made our day a bit
easier. Then we got to the climb and we rode our tempo.
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“We knew there was going to be attacks, we matched them and Richie brought home the jersey so it’s all good.”
Asked about his own performance, and whether he must feel
really positive about it, Dunbar said: “I always knew I had this in me, you
know. I just needed a run of races and a bit of good luck.
“I’ve been, thankfully, injury free this year. I stayed
upright, which makes a big difference. I’m feeling good and I’m enjoying riding
my bike at the minute.”
Earlier in the race, before the start of Friday’s stage
6, Dunbar also spoke about his form, which became one of the talking points of
the event.
Asked if he was surprised he was riding so well, he said:
“No, I’m not surprised. I’ve raced well the last few months, I’ve got a lot of
racing under my belt and I got called in last week to do this race.
“I think it just shows the training I’ve been doing, everything’s been going well. Morale is good, so why not go well on the bike?”
Speaking yesterday after the team took the overall and
young riders’ classification, Ineos Grenadiers manager, Christian Knees, was full
of praise for his Irish rider.
“From day one they were amazing, the whole team. Richard
finished it off today, there were a few attacks but he could follow every
attack,” said.
“Eddie Dunbar in the young riders’ jersey; up with the
front group today, always coming back, always pulling for Richard.”
When asked if he felt Dunbar, in particular, stood out
this week, Knees said: “Yes, yes he definitely stood out. He stepped up in this
race.
“He did some fantastic performances in the previous
years, but the way he performed this week in support of Richard Carapaz, and
then still being able to finish best young rider… superb from him.”
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