Eddie Dunbar began training yesterday, Wednesday, on the rollers following his crash in Tirreno Adriatico in which he sustained whiplash. Though Dunbar did not break any bones, he came down hard on stage 5, looked in distress and had to abandon the race.
Dunbar's return to training came just five days after that crash on the road to Pergola. As long as he can increase the workload as planned, such a short break in training or racing should not significantly impact his condition.
Team Jayco AlUla told stickybottle the Irishman would soon return to training on the road, adding his racing schedule had not been changed as a result of the crash.
"Yesterday Eddie was training with rollers," the team said in a brief response to queries. "He will start on the road in the next days. He’s race program is still Itzulia race."
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That next event - Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT) - does not begin until April 7th, leaving Dunbar with the best part of three weeks to overcome his crash.
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The fact his team has not already changed his racing plans suggests it has confidence in his ability to be on the start line in Spain early next month for the six-stage race.
The 28-year-old had showed excellent form at Tirreno Adriatico with 13th on the pan flat stage 1 TT, which would not normally be suited to a pure climber. He then moved further up the general standings to 7th setting out on stage 5.
However, he crashed out of the race just before it reached the terrain that would have best suited him, with the hors cat climb to Frontignano to finish stage 6.
Having won two stages at La Vuelta last year, including the queen stage, the hilly terrain at Tirreno would have been the first time Dunbar got to show his climbing form in 2025. And against the background of his TT ride, many Irish fans hoped for big things from him.
However, the update now coming out of his team suggests it is sticking with the planned race schedule, getting going again early next month.
