Eddie Dunbar was described as a "Moneyball rider" Jayco AlUla's director of racing, Matt White, when the team signed the Irishman, who has now proven him right with two brilliant wins at La Vuelta after being forced to sit out Grand Tours at Ineos Grenadiers.
The Australian World Tour is now not only delighted Dunbar has achieved the success he has over the last fortnight, but is also relishing the thought of what may be to come.
It clearly sees his Vuelta as a step onto the next level and the Irish rider himself has spoken to wishing the race could continue for another week, so his hunt for more results would not come to an end just 24 hours after his stage 20 win.
“I’m still feeling really good, I said jokingly that it’s a shame that the race isn’t a week longer," he said. "But I’m really happy, the team rode really well for the full three weeks, the first week was a bit difficult with a few guys being sick and having to leave the race, but I think we came out of it strong in the second and third weeks.
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"For me to get a stage win and then Mauro and Pippo to get three second places between them I think it shows that the way the whole team rode over the three weeks has been really impressive. It was special to get the hands up again on stage 20 to finish off a successful three weeks for the team.”
Team general manager, Brent Copeland, said he believed Dunbar's success was simply a sign of what everyone always knew he was capable of.
"It’s definitely been a successful three weeks," he said of the performance of the team. "We had some concerns in the first week with the heat and some illness in the team, so we didn’t have fortune on our side the whole time.
"But this group managed to turn it around with Eddie’s first win and then two second places with Schmid and Zana. That really got the morale going and it switched the switch to get things moving in the right direction.
"The cherry on top was the win on the queen stage and Eddie’s ride, which was tremendously satisfying because of what he’s been through and how hard he’s worked after the misfortune he had at the Giro, it’s great to see him back at the level he should be.”
