Eddie Dunbar outlines his next races, including the Tour de Yorkshire. He also said he saw comments made by Sean Kelly - on what he felt Dunbar needed to do next. And the young Irishman fully agreed with Kelly's remarks. Above, at the end of Amstel Gold where he made a big impression and left it all out on the road (Photo: Aqua Blue Sport)
Eddie Dunbar on Sean Kelly comments and Tour de Yorkshire
Having watched him in the Ardennes classics attacking off the front and learning his trade in the peloton, cycling fans will next see Eddie Dunbar in the Tour de Yorkshire.
It is a race he has ridden before. He proved aggressive on the opening stage three years ago. However, he then crashed out on a descent that claimed a number of riders.
The Irish rider was in his first year out of the juniors. He was riding with the NFTO Continental team based in the UK.
Advertisement
Since then he has ridden two years with US Continental squad Axeon Hagens Berman. He also won the U23 Tour of Flanders last year.
And now riding for Irish ProContinental team Aqua Blue Sport he has progressed again. He rode in the breakaway at the recent Amstel Gold; his WorldTour debut.
Furthermore, he went into Liège-Bastogne-Liège with the aim of staying in the peloton rather than attacking. He wanted to learn from that experience and says he did so.
He would also finish the race; a not insignificant achievement given he is still just 21-years-old. The race is probably the hardest one-day pro race.
Dunbar has been speaking on the Aqua Blue Sport website about his plans ahead and those races just completed.
And he has revealed he will line-out in both Yorkshire (2.1) and the Baloise Belgium Tour. The British race gets underway on Thursday and features four stages.
The Belgian event is another four-day. It gets underway on May 23rd. It's a 2.HC race, a higher category than in Yorkshire.
Eddie Dunbar has improved significantly and impressed frequently since his ill-fated Yorkshire ride in 2015. And it is a race he can do very well in this time around.
"I’m looking forward to Yorkshire next week which for me will mark the end of the first part of my season," he said.
Related News
"We have a strong team going there and it’s such a nice race. The crowds are always massive there and they’re so supportive.
"It’s a race I like, and I’ve always wanted to do it again since crashing out of it a few years ago.
"It’s a really important race for us as well being so close to Ireland. And I think it’s very important we step up to the mark over there and show people what we can do.
"I’m going to go to Yorkshire with an open mind. The second stage and the fourth stage are really hard, grippy stages. And we certainly have a team that can do something in those stages.
"We’ll be looking at those two stages and then obviously we have Adam (Blythe) as well for the two flatter days. So hopefully we can help him to get a good result on one of those.
"After that I have a break of two weeks or so before the Baloise Belgium Tour. So I’ll take a bit of a break then and build up again.
"Looking back at Amstel and Liège, I had goals to get out of both races, and I achieved them both.
"They were two very hard races – each like doing two stages of a race in a single day – but they will stand to me."
He added he had seen comments by Sean Kelly on stickybottle and agreed with them.
Sean Kelly said Dunbar "has the legs" to gain big results. He added he wanted to see the young Irishman stay in the peloton and learn to ride the finals from the peloton.
"Having shown myself in the break in Amstel I had different goals for Liège," explained Eddie Dunbar.
"And the main one was to stay in peloton and learn more about how to ride in the bunch. I saw comments from Sean Kelly in an article after Liège expressing similar thoughts and he’s right.
"I know Sean quite well and he made a lot of sense. It’s not that I don’t have the legs to contest the race.
"It’s that you need to learn how to hold position in the pack at a race like that, and not just to learn it, to earn it.
"You’re not going to go into my first Liège and sit in the top 30 in the peloton. That doesn’t happen.
"Your place there has to be earned. I’m 21 years old and that was one of my major goals at Liège; to watch and learn."
Topics
