Ireland's Eddie Dunbar: On a very hilly and aggressive stage and with WorldTour teams on the attack Eddie Dunbar took his best result since his Baby Giro crash last year (Photo: AquaBlueSport-Siroti)
Eddie Dunbar puts in very promising climbing shift in Italy
Eddie Dunbar has put in a very strong climbing effort on the queen stage of Settimana Coppi e Bartali in Italy.
The Irishman, still coming back to full-scale race action after a long lay-off, was a very solid 19th on the day.
It was his best performance since a crash in the Baby Giro derailed his racing last June.
The stage, 130km from Riccione to Sogliano al Rubicone, was won by Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).
While it was a short day in the saddle, there were five categorised climbs to contend with. They included the final ascent tackled three times on a finish circuit.
Advertisement
The three passages of the 5km Monte Tiffi and the two earlier ascents added up to 3,000 metres of climbing.
That made for a very hard second half to the stage; one that young Dunbar came through in very good order.
His ride today showed he could hold his own with some real quality on the hills.
Furthermore, it confirms his comeback after a serious and prolonged concussive episode is on track.
Bauke Mollema claims victory on the narrow cobbled streets of SoglianoalRubicone.
Dunbar’s Aqua Blue Sport team mate Calvin Watson made the breakaway today.
He was one of six up the road and was with Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Samsic) and Patryk Stosz (CCC Sprandi Polkowice).
Related News
Also present were Tyler Williams (Israel Academy), Marco Minnaard (Wanty Groupe Gobert) and Sebastien Delfosse (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic).
They went clear very early and because the stage was so short were only allowed again about 2½ minutes.
When the race reached the circuit the gap was even smaller and 14 riders broken clear of the peloton.
They caught the four riders who remained in the lead from the original escape; Watson among them.
On the second passage of the climb the strong climbers emerged from the bunch and rode across to the lead group.
That saw 34 riders form at the front; Eddie Dunbar one of those riding away from the rest of the peloton.
However, when the winning move went from that large front group Dunbar was in; it was a step too far for him.
Present in the victorious late breakaway was Mollema, Diego Rosa (Team Sky), Giulio Ciccone (Bardini-CSF), Guilliaume Martin (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Richard Carapaz (Movistar).
Mollema was far too strong for the others. As a result he won by two seconds from Rosa, with Ciccone another second back.
In the wake of the leaders, the 30-strong group they had ridden away from split to pieces on the lumpy run it.
Dunbar crossed the line in 19th some 1:14 down on the winner.
Three stages into Settimana Coppi e Bartali
The opening stage yesterday morning saw Pascal Eenkhoorn (LottoNL-Jumbo) win from Lawson Craddock (EF-Drapac-Cannondale) in a two-man escape. They finished 1:07 clear of the bunch.
There followed an afternoon TTT yesterday. The 13.3km test in Gatteo was won by Team Sky. Aqua Blue Sport was 12th of the 25 teams; some 35 seconds down.
After today’s stage Rosa has the race lead by seven seconds from Mollema. And with tomorrow’s road stage and Sunday’s TT to come, Eddie Dunbar is 22nd overall at 1:53.
He is also sixth in the young rider classification. Tomorrow’s stage is a pan flat 171km in Crevalcore and should suit the sprinters.
Topics
