Irish cyclist Eddie Dunbar faces into his first WorldTour stage race, which will bring his first taste of really high European mountains. He'll go up against the likes of Richie Porte and a host of other top names in the Tour de Suisse (Photo: Karen M Edwards)
Eddie Dunbar to "give it a go" at Tour de Suisse
Eddie Dunbar will ride the Tour de Suisse; his first test of racing in very high European mountains. The 21-year-old rides the race as part of a strong Aqua Blue Sport line-up.
Also set to ride the event is US champion Larry Warbasse, who claimed a mountain stage last year.
Another man from the team who will be looking to make his mark is Stefan Denifl. He won the Tour of Austria overall last year and also took a stage of the Vuelta.
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The young Irish rider and his team mates will be up against some real quality.
There is an extra week this year between the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de France. As a result some of the top riders have opted for the Switzerland instead.
Eddie Dunbar will line up in the field that includes Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and the Movistar duo of Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa.
Also riding is defending champion Simon Spilak (Katusha-Alpecin), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and last year’s Dauphiné winner Jakob Fuglsang (Astana).
It will be Dunbar’s first WorldTour stage race. And it comes after he was 4th on the queen stage at the Tour de Yorkshire. He was also 4th overall at Baloise Belgium Tour.
Eddie Dunbar will ride against big names like Porte and Quintana. He says he is realistic but will pick out some stages and have a go.
“It’s a massive race for the team,” Dunbar said of the Tour de Suisse, starting next Saturday.
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“It’s going to be a really hard race for lots of reasons – a lot of the guys will be coming off the Giro d’Italia.
“For others it’s the last real preparation race for the Tour de France. But I’m looking forward to it.
“I have to be realistic about my chances, given that it’s my first WorldTour stage race and the first time I will have raced nine days since the 2016 Tour of Utah.
“But I’m up for the challenge. Obviously with my build and my character of racing, it’s a no-brainer that the lumpier, harder stages suit me.
“And there are some really interesting mountain stages in the middle of the race.
“I’m just going to pick out one or two stages, have a good look at them, see which suit my characteristics best and give it a go.”
The nine-stage race gets underway with an 18km team time trial on Saturday, June 9th, in Frauenfeld.
The following day is a 155km circuit race; four laps of a lumpy circuit around Frauenfeld.
It features a categorised climb each lap and can suit the Aqua Blue Sport men, including Dunbar, if they are going well.
Stage 3 is 182km from Oberstammheim to Gansingen. The riders face 2½ laps of a finishing circuit with five short sharp climbs.
The following day takes the riders 189km from Gansingen to Gstaad. There is just one climb; peaking at 1,300, followed by a descent into the finish.
Stage 5 is 155km from Gstaad to Leukerbad, with two large climbs in the final third of the race. The stage finishes atop the second of those mountains, at an altitude of 1,400 metres.
That is followed by stage 6, the queen stage with the Furka Pass and Klausen Pass.
Those two alpine passes, combined with a small climb very close to the finish, see the riders tackle 3,300 metres of climbing that day.
Stage 7 is another one for the climbers; 170km from Eschenbach-Atzmännig to Arosa featuring a summit finish.
The penultimate stage is a 123km circuit race; six laps in Bellinzona. And while there are no categorised climbs the bumps on the course will feel more difficult at the end of such a hard week.
The race concludes with a 34km TT in Bellinzona; the mostly flat course looking set to suit the powerful men.
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