No Fear: Eddie Dunbar was virtual yellow jersey on the road for long periods of the Junior Tour of Wales fourth and final stage today, Monday. In this photo he leads the race through a hilly stretch with the chasing group visible behind him and the bunch a little further down the climb (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)
By Brian Canty
Eddie Dunbar saw his gallant bid for the yellow jersey at the Junior Tour of Wales come up short this afternoon, Monday.
The Munster Sensa rider started today’s fifth and final stage in fourth place overall at 48 seconds and though he led the race at one point when he got away and pulled out a gap of 1’20”, he was reeled in with around 35 kilometres to go and eventually slipped back to fifth overall.
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Today’s stage was the longest of the three-day event and at 100 kilometres, with three climbs and two sprint points, it was still a wide open race this morning.
And there was a real sting in the tail at the finish too, with the race concluding on Tumble Mountain, an eight-kilometre drag with an average gradient of 7 per cent that climbs to over 430 metres.
The first dangerous move of the day came in the first section of the race and saw seven riders – including Daragh Long of the Nicolas Roche Performance Team - get a small gap of around 20 seconds before they were hauled back by a hungry peloton.
It was the second day in succession that Long forged his way into the escape and that will come as a huge boost to him and the team that they can mix it with some of the best abroad.
Shortly after they were pulled back, two riders escaped in what proved to be the big move of the day – Dunbar and Harry Shackleton of the Team-Elite/Paul Bethell Electrical team. Though Shackleton was no threat on GC – he started over 13 minutes down – Dunbar went into the stage in 4th place overall, just 48 seconds down.
The duo gave it absolutely everything out front and quickly they built a gap of over a minute. Just past the half-way mark, they were 1’20” clear before a chase group went on the hunt for them.
With Shackleton tiring, Dunbar – now in virtual yellow - sensed danger and went it alone, as he has done so many times already this year.
The seven-man chase group got organised straight away, however, and in there amongst six British riders, was Daragh Long once again; though he did not work with the group because a fellow Irish rider was up ahead.
Dunbar persisted but was eventually caught as the strain of the heavy roads and riding solo out front began to take its toll. And by the time they reached Abergavenny at 15 kilometres to go, it was all back together.
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The long downhill sections into the base of the final climb perhaps worked against Dunbar, in that the bunch hurtled down them much quicker than one rider alone could, with no slipstream available.
Unsurprisingly, even after he was caught Dunbar launched several attacks as did several of his Munster team mates and the Nicolas Roche Performance Team. But the Wales A team of race leader Scott Davies were letting nothing get away.
That led to a frantic last 10 kilometres, eight of which were uphill to the finish. The rider who almost stole it was Ashley Dennis (Team de Ver), who started the day a minute down.
But, like all other moves, his attack was shut down and stage glory went to James Knox (Champion System/Base/Maxgear) with Davies sealing the overall; the first Welshman to do so in 34 years.
Dunbar took some consolation in winning the first-year junior category and afterwards, he paid tribute to his team, who put everything on the line for him.
“The whole weekend they were just brilliant,” he said.
“I never wanted for anything and right from the start when Sean (Hahessy) gave me his wheel, they were always there for me and it’s nice knowing you have that level of support from guys in the team. It makes me want to do better.”
“Kevin Hayes and Tom Shanahan deserve huge credit too for minding us all weekend, they had everything organised and it was done to a T."
The winner of stage 4 was James King of the UK-based Sportscover-Haribo team. While he began the year as an Irish rider and was included in the junior squad for this year, he has been frustrated by his non-selection on Irish teams and so has reverted to riding as a GB rider.
Junior Tour of Wales
August 24th to 26th
Result: Stage 5 (100km)
1 James Knox CHA 2:17:50
2 Scott Davies WAL @1
3 Sam Oomen TPH @7
4 Ashley Dennis TDV @11
5 Stelios Farantakis TPH @18
6 Ben Chapman TDV @s/t
7 Mitchell Webber PRI @21
8 Jake Kelly IOM @s/t
9 Maximilian Stedman CEN @s/t
10 Joe Evans HAR @s/t
11 Eddie Dunbar SEN @41
30 Danny Bruton NRP @1:53
33 Craig McAuley VO2 @2:10
34 Stephen Shanahan SEN @s/t
56 David McCarthy NRP @3.53
64 Dylan O'Brian SEN @5:24
65 Sean Hahessy SEN @5:42
84 Daragh Campbell NOV @23:00
93 Daragh Long NRP DNF
Final General Classification
1 Scott Davies Wales A Wal 6:44:44
2 Sam Oomen TWC Pijnenburg (Holland) @7secs
3 James Knox Champion System/Maxgear/Base @22
4 Ashley Dennis Team De Ver @1:11
5 Eddie Dunbar Sensa Munster @1:22
6 Ben Chapman Team De Ver @1:34
7 Joe Evans Hargroves Cycles - Specialized @1:46
8 Christopher Lawless Kuota - Spinergy - GSG @1:49
9 Jake Kelly Team Microgaming Isle of Man @1:56
10 Stelios Farantakis TWC Pijnenburg (Holland) @2:04
35 Stephen Shanahan Sensa Munster @7:09
38 Danny Bruton NRPT Standard Life @8:09
42 Craig McAuley VO2 Development Team @9:33
45 Dylan O'Brian Sensa Munster 13:04 @10:37
56 David McCarthy NRPT Standard Life @15:51
74 Sean Hahessy Sensa Munster @32:21
79 Daragh Campbell Novo Nordisk Dev Team @44:20
DNF Darragh Long DNF
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