Irish rider Eddie Dunbar in demand with the media at the start in Leuven before the testing 202km to Overijse, with plenty of climbing and attacks between (Photo: Aqua Blue Sport)
Eddie Dunbar in Brabantse Pijl action ahead of Amstel Gold
Eddie Dunbar has put in a solid ride at Brabantse Pijl ahead of his WorldTour debut at Amstel Gold on Sunday.
The Aqua Blue Sport 21-year-old remained in the peloton until it began to split under the pressure of constant attacks in the closing stages.
He would eventually finish in 56th place, some 1:24 down on winner Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal).
It was an emotional day at the Belgian semi classic after the death of Michael Goolaerts in Paris-Roubaix.
His Veranda’s Willems team led a silent tribute to the deceased rider who suffered cardiac arrest and died in hospital after crashing last Sunday.
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And when a breakaway went clear in today’s 202km race, with 27 short climbs to contend with, the team had a man up there; Dries De Bondt.
Also in the escape was Aqua Blue Sport’s Calvin Watson. Others in the move included Tyler Williams (Israel Cycling Academy), Eduard Grosu (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Elmar Reinders (Roompot).
Completing the move was Antoine Warnier (Aqua Protect) and Andrea Peron (Novo Nordisk).
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They took flight early and would stretch their advantage to eight minutes before the inevitable chase commenced.
The team of eventual winner Wellens did the lion’s share of the early chasing. And when the breakaway entered the 23.4km finishing circuit with three laps remaining the gap was down to a manageable two minutes.
Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) and Tosh Van Der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) jumped from the peloton across to the escape and then dropped them.
But the leading duo where themselves caught on the final lap; the catch made with about 10km remaining.
Wellens soon made his move to win, pulling out 25 seconds. And while it was pegged back to just nine seconds on the line, it was an impressive victory from the Belgian.
Last year’s victor Sonny Cobrelli (Bahrain Merida) won the sprint for 2nd place as the peloton fractured in the finale. Tiesj Benoot made it a 1-3 for Lotto-Soudal.
US champion Larry Warbasse was best of the Aqua Blue Sport men, finishing 24th at 23 seconds.
The American and Eddie Dunbar have already been named by the team for Amstel Gold, with the rest of the selection yet to be confirmed.
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