Michael O'Loughlin leads the chance back on during the junior men's road race at the European Championships in Nyon Switzerland. Eddie Dunbar is third in line and Stephen Shanahan just behind him.
By Brian Canty
Eddie Dunbar has spoken of his disappointment at not being in a position to contend for a medal at the European Championships in Nyon, Switzerland at the weekend.
The O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk rider led the four-man Irish team in Saturday’s 126 kilometre Championship race but a crash on the third lap effectively ended his chances of being at the front when it mattered most.
He still finished a respectable 25th, in a reduced group of some 50 riders behind the winner. But for Dunbar, there were only regrets.
He went to hospital after the race to be X-rayed as he feared he had broken a bone in his wrist or collar bone but thankfully was diagnosed with heavy bruising as well as cuts and abrasions.
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“I’m not too bad today,” he told stickybottle yesterday.
“It was just a silly crash. We came over the climb and there was a dip down, really fast. And two fellas hit each other and I went straight into them from behind and went down.
“The lads said I rolled four or five times,” he said in reference to his Irish team mates.
The Irish team rode well as a team but unfortunately their efforts were spent on getting Dunbar back onto the bunch after a crash, rather than off the front into a potentially race-winning position (Photo: Vincent O'Connor)
“I thought it was over for me, I was in pure shock. The lads were roaring at me ‘what will we do’, so I told them wait and we put on the chain and got going again.
“Daire (Feeley, team mate) was gone at that stage, some lad hit his wheel and buckled it so we were down a man straight away. But Michael O’Loughlin and Stephen Shanahan drilled it as hard as they could for as long as they could and I went off myself then.
“The gap to the bunch was a minute by the time I got going, so I don’t know how I got back up. If I didn’t have such team mates I wouldn’t have done it.
“Once I got on, the pain kicked it then, it was unreal. I was never in so much pain. But look, that’s bad luck, it’s only one day. There’ll be plenty other days.”
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Dunbar got back in the bunch and the real aggression started. And though it took him a while to get his bearings, he was soon doing what he does best, attacking.
“It took me about 20 minutes to get back on, but I was in shock so I stayed at the back a while. There were guys attacking but they were getting nowhere so I went to the front again and started jumping, trying to get away and following. But I was completely marked out of it.”
Eventually a move went clear with four riders. Dunbar was he going to close the gap, and with the move went his chances of the result he knew he was capable of.
While the World Championships is now a big goal after his Euros disappointment, Dunbar's next goal is to try and retain his title at the Junior Tour of Ireland (Photo: Stephan McMahon - Sportsfile)
“The aim was to win the thing and it’s disappointing when that’s one of your aims for the season and especially with the lads doing such an amazing job,” he said.
“It’s a pity I couldn’t have done it for them because they deserved it. But there’ll be other days.
“They did unreal, when they were spent they told me and I went off myself then in pursuit of the group. It was great to have a team like that.
“The crashes were just mad; it’s just the nature of bike racing. There was one crash when three Polish lads went down at the fed zone. They all went for the same bottle; one went down and they all followed.
“It was a course that suited a smart rider as opposed to a strong guy; the guy who was second. I beat him in Germany two weeks ago and the fellas who were third and fifth I beat them as well so it’s annoying when you see that.
“I’d have liked harder longer climbs like last year, but what can you do. I’ve had a good run, I’ve gotten huge support from everyone and words can’t describe what it means.
“I’m delighted that’s the way it is, it’s nice to get those messages of support. Hopefully, one day, I can pull of a major result like the Worlds, to put a smile on peoples’ faces and show my appreciation to my teammates for what they do for me.
“That’s what I want to do, win a major championships, we still have the worlds so we’ll see what we can do there.”
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