Conor Dunne has once again gone up the road at the Vuelta. It was a very difficult stage 11; rain and wind conspiring with a climbing marathon at the end. But the Aqua Blue Sport man was not deterred, unlike many others in the race (All photos by Karen M Edwards)
Irish cyclist Conor Dunne on Vuelta attack
Irish cyclist Conor Dunne has again been off the front of La Vuelta. The Aqua Blue Sport rider was part of a large escape on yesterday’s stage 11.
He was overhauled and would finish down the field. But he is clearly taking his aggressive style of racing into this Grand Tour.
Dunne had already ridden in the breakaway on Sunday’s stage 9. He went back to the peloton when the escape broke up on a late climb.
He had been clear for about 120km when he was caught with about 40km remaining.
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Yesterday, despite the rain and so much climbing at the very end of the stage, Conor Dunne once again bravely hit out. And his nose for the breakaway didn't let him down.
Dunne's group would go clear round 50km into the 187.5km stage from Lorca to Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto.
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With Dunne up the road were Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates), Sander Armée (Lotto Soudal) and Bob Jungels (QuickStep).
Also present was Aldemar Reyes (Manzana Postobon) as well as Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), Lennard Hofstede (Team Sunweb), Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida) and Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNl-Jumbo).
Igor Anton (Dimension Data) was also present, along with David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Nicolas Roche's BMC Racing team mate Alessandro De Marchi.
Their advantaged would grow to five minutes by the halfway point. But they would have needed much more to survive a stage with two cat 1 ascents one after the other in the final 20km.
Race leader Chris Froome’s Team Sky rode at the front of the peloton to control the gap. Orica-Scott joined in the chase; it's charges riding of Esteban Chaves.
The gap between peloton and escapees had halved from its peak by the time the serious climbing got underway.
Bardet was the first of the leaders to drive it really hard soon after the climbing began. And when he did the 14-man lead group began to split.
Dunne was one of the victims and he would be reabsorbed by the select group and then most of the rest of the field.
He would eventually finish in the largest group on the road. Dunne was among 42 men some 31:42 off stage winner Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).
The 23-year-old Colombian had been 3rd overall in the Tour of Austria in July. Conor Dunne’s Aqua Blue Sport team mate Stefan Denifl won that race overall.
And the Austrian climber was the Irish ProContinental team’s best finisher yesterday. He placed 31st, at 6:27, on the testing Vuelta stage 11.
He said afterwards that Irish cyclist Dunne had gone on the attack on a day few dared to.
“It (was) a rough day again with rain from the start,” Denifl said. “Everyone in the peloton was afraid because they knew what was coming – a lot of climbing.
“I just tried to hang in there at the front. My legs are getting better and better, day by day.
“I missed again the breakaway but that is the way it is. And I am going to keep on trying. I will also keep going with improving my shape.”
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