Eddie Dunbar did not lose a single placing in the general classification at La Vuelta on Sunday's mountain stage to Granada, but that was a reflection of the time lost by so many riders rather than a successful damage control exercise.
Though he remains 23rd overall, he lost 11:31 to stage winner Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and, more significantly, some 7½ minutes to the general classification group. He is now 15:55 off race leader Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and more than nine minutes off the top 10.
A breakaway ride could, of course, peg minutes back for Dunbar. But failing being allowed to sail off up the road and gain minutes - always possible, but not likely - the Irishman's general classification ambitions look over.
But that opens another door for the 27-year-old Cork man. And at the finish in Granada yesterday he was already talking about looking ahead and regrouping, as well as outlining where it went wrong for him on the 178.5km stage 9, with 4,500m of climbing.
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"I just completely overheated on that first long climb and I just never really recovered," Dunbar said of a stage with the El Purche, at 8.9km and 7.6 per cent average gradient, followed by two ascents of the Hazallanas climb; some 7.1km averaging 9.6 per cent.
On that terrain, and in the baking heat with the pressure on, it was perhaps no surprise Dunbar was unable to find a way back once he began to overheat. But he wasn't without hope for the rest of the race.
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"Chris (Harper) did a super job just pacing me the last 30k. I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures," Dunbar said of his Australian team mate trying to come to his aid after he began to suffer badly in the Spanish sun.
"The Vuelta is an open race so, I'll reassess and maybe look for some breakaways and see what happens," he added, ahead of Monday's rest day and with two more weeks of racing to come.
Dunbar rode to his best ever general classification result - 7th at Giro d'Italia last year - by being one of the best riders just below the very top tier. He was able to follow the very best and moved up as far as 4th overall deep into the final week before illness kicked in and he relinquished some places.
But this time around if the Irish rider wants to get something from La Vuelta - which he needs after a crash-hit season - attacking must be the name of the game. He can hopefully get clear in a breakaway on one of the many mountainous stages to come and seize any chance he gets, once his form allows.
One big upside of his time loss so far is that he does not need to ride a conservative general classification race. Instead, he can roll the dice, and hopefully do that several times, and see where they land.
His Jayco AlUla team also has nobody well placed in the GC - Chris Harper next after Dunbar, some 55 minutes down - meaning the Irish rider should now have some real freedom to go for it. There is now no benefit to hanging back and everything to gain by going forward, especially if he had a bit of luck in a breakaway.
