Eddie Dunbar will not ride La Vuelta as his Ineos Grenadiers team, which he is leaving at the end of this year, has chosen a line-up featuring a mix of youth and experience.
The British World Tour team has decided to hand four young riders their Grand Tour debuts in the Spanish race, namely Ben Turner, Carlos Rodríguez, Luke Plapp and Ethan Hayter.
The other half of the team is much more experienced, with Giro winners Richard Carapaz and Tao Geoghegan Hart in the line-up alongside recent Vuelta a Burgos winner Pavel Sivakov and Paris Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle
Dunbar's omission from the line-up means he will depart Ineos Grenadiers at year end having ridden just one Grand Tour during his 4½ years with the team. He joined the squad midway through the 2018 campaign, when Aqua Blue Sport abruptly ceased.
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The Corkman then went on to ride the Giro in 2019, being granted a Grand Tour start at the first opportunity. But since then he has not featured for the team in the Giro, Vuelta or Tour. At times during his time with the team he was ruled out of Grand Tour selection through illness or injury. He has now been overlooked again despite winning Coppi e Bartali and Tour de Hongrie this season.
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However, when Dunbar begins his new two-year contract with BikeExchange-Jayco from January 1st next he will have a much better chance of being picked for Grand Tours. The competition for places in the Ineos Grenadiers Grand Tour teams is intense and the team also has a number of very young riders which it has favoured as the team clearly regards those riders as the future of the team.
Rod Ellingworth, deputy team principal, said the line-up for the Vuelta, which starts on Friday, "is a really exciting one; a great mix of experience and youth, which we believe will produce some outstanding racing".
“To have four Grand Tour debutants in Carlos, Luke, Ethan and Ben reinforces the belief we have in the quality of our young riders and we know that they’ll provide fantastic support for Richie in his last Grand Tour with us. All four have impressed in 2022 and this will be the next big step in their development at the very highest level.
“As a previous winner, and having placed second in 2020, we’re looking forward to Richie drawing on that experience and leading the team as the race heads for Madrid, in what undoubtedly will be a very exciting edition of the Vuelta.
“Dylan, Pavel and Tao provide invaluable experience to complete a group we believe can deliver some incredible moments in the final Grand Tour of a brilliant season. I know that the riders and the staff will be going all out to finish this part of our campaign on a high, and we look forward to a successful race together.”
