Eddie Dunbar saw off the best efforts of the US Hot Tubes team and dropped the American champion to take stage 2 and the yellow jersey on the Junior Tour. Seen here in last night’s time trial that got the race underway (Photo: Stephen McMahon – Sportsfile)
By Brian Canty
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar has stormed to one of his best ever wins, leaving the field in his wake on today’s second stage of the Junior Tour of Ireland in Co Clare; winning on his own by almost three minutes.
The defending champion, riding for the four-man Irish team, jumped clear in the opening kilometres today and pulled a small group with him. But one by one they dropped back to the safe sanctuary of the bunch, perhaps thinking that such an early move was a waste of time.
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Indeed, with 116 kilometres and two climbs to negotiate, it really was no day for the faint-hearted. And with the opening 40 kilometres into a driving headwind, few would have argued with any rider who opted out of the early escape.
But Dunbar knows no other way than to ride at the front and he, along with US national champion Jonathen Brown (Hot Tubes), proceeded to pull out time on those behind.
The gap went from 23 seconds to half a minute by kilometre 15 and it slowly grew further from there, to 50 seconds after 23 kilometres.
Dunbar did much of the driving on really testing roads and as the race turned north, to be buffeted by a crosswind, the gap extended to over a minute despite some intense chasing from the Hot Tubes team.
It was surprising that it was they who lined out the bunch, given their man Brown was up the road. But as it turned out, it was the correct course of action as Brown became distanced, leaving Dunbar out front on his own.
Under such heavy pressure behind, the bunch began to fragment and a split saw a group of 10 pull clear, with yellow jersey wearer Michael O’Loughlin safely there.
He was alongside Irish teammates Daire Feeley and Stephen Shanahan, while Munster Sensa team leader Dylan O’Brien was also present.
Dunbar’s lead began to dip beneath a minute around the halfway point. But knowing there was just one more climb to go – the cat three ascent of the Burren – he received plenty encouragement from the Irish team car, who willed him on from behind.
Turning inland Dunbar was glad of the tailwind, but the workload never ceased as Hot Tubes still kept up the chase at the front, with the Irish national team getting a free ride behind them.
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On the Burren, the gap was 1:30, at which point O’Loughlin attacked and took a group of six with him, which later swelled to 17.
That large escape saw little cohesion and a temporary stall played right into Dunbar’s hands. He was almost two minutes clear with 20 kilometres to go.
Craig McAuley – who stickybottle predicted was a real dark horse for this week – was next to try his luck and the Standard Life Nicolas Roche Performance Team man managed to get some daylight on the bunch but was eventually reeled back in.
Dunbar seemed to find another gear on the run for home and had a gap of 2:50 inside the 10k to go banner. He maintained that all the way to the finish, crossing the line almost three minutes up.
The yellow jersey group was whittled back to just 19 riders with Hot Tubes still piling on the pressure, but to no avail.
Simon Tuomey – another man who this website earmarked for a good week - had a go coming into the finish in a bid to move up from fifth on GC but was pegged back by a fast finishing front group.
Dunbar’s win was very similar to his first stage win in the race last year when he romped home to victory on the 103km stage three while wearing the KOM jersey. He would swap that for yellow by the end of the day and hold it for the remainder of the race.
Just like 12 months ago too, he was in the very first move of the day today and was never seen by the bunch again.
Dunbar is now in yellow, but he also holds the climbers’ classification lead.
Tomorrow’s stage is another leg-breaker and Dunbar can expect attacks from all sides, all day. The riders travel 125 kilometres in a north easterly direction from Ennis, taking in Barefield, Gort, Lisdoonvarna, Doolin, the Cliffs of Moher, Liscannor and Lahinch. There are four climbs, with the first category one of the race so far at Corkscrew Hill at 94 kilometres.
We’ll have reaction and full results later.
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