Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) and Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) have come through the first weekend of racing at La Vuelta safely as the first big summit finish looms.
However, they were both caught out in the final today, when a high speed crash with 2km to go split the field. Dunbar also appeared to get caught in small crash incident by the roadside with just over 20km to go, though the riders were quickly back on their bikes.
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), who is leading the young rider classification, appeared to hit a spectator and came down, resulting in a number of others having to stop. Dunbar was helped back onto his bike by a number of team mates and it did not seem he took a heavy fall.
With the opening stage TT and first, always nervous, road stage now behind, the Irish duo will face the first big proper test of the race on the road to the HC summit finish of Pico Villuercas.
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That stage - on Tuesday - will likely be different different for both Irish riders. Rafferty is riding this race in support of team leader, and one of the possible overall winners, Richard Carapaz.
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?⚡️ A quiet day that culminated in an explosive sprint. Relive it in 1'.
?⚡️ Un día tranquilo que se ha culminado con un sprint explosivo. Revívelo en 1'.
#LaVuelta24 | @gorouvy pic.twitter.com/PPbYmRiCXY— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 18, 2024
Stage 4 will involve Rafferty contributing to the team effort to keep Carapaz's chances intact, and perhaps off him the chance to make a move and gain some time.
For Dunbar, the stage may offer the first opportunity for him and his team to get up the road and aim for a stage win from a breakaway. The 191.5km stage 3 - from Lousã to Castelo Branco - must be negotiated tomorrow before the two Irish riders face their first test on Tuesday.
On Saturday's opening TT - some 12km from Lisbon to Oeiras - Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) claimed victory, with Dunbar 33rd at 39 seconds and Rafferty placing 37th at 40 seconds.
Today's stage - 194km from Cascais to Ourém - ended in a bunch sprint, won by Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) from Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), with the Belgian rider taking the race lead. Dunbar and Rafferty finished in the bunch, in 113th and 159th.
Though both Irish riders finished in groups off the back of the front section of the peloton, they were credited with the same time as Groves as the splits were caused by the crash, which occurred within the 3km to go zone.
