Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) has fought hard to keep his general classification challenge on track at CRO Race in Croatia. On today's stage 3 the Irish rider made the front group when a late climb forced a selection.
And though Dunbar then hit the front of that group as it entered the final kilometre, he slipped back in a technical finale, which included a 180 degree turn and very fast downhill section all the way to the finish line.
The technical run-up - and the sheer speed of the last 500m - saw small splits open in the group, with Dunbar and his team mates, Campbell Stewart and Tsgabu Grmay, on the wrong side of them. However, while the initial result from the stage registered a time difference between the first 11 riders and the rest, they did not stand in the confirmed stage result.
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It meant the top 27 riders - though stretched out in a long line with several gaps - were all credited with the same time, meaning the only time Dunbar has lost so far is to the those riders who have take time bonuses in the sprints on the opening three days of action.
The Irish rider finished 21st today, on the same time as stage winner Nicolò Parisini Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, after 133.5km of racing from Otočac to Opatija. Tobias Lund Andresen (Team dsm-firmenich), the 21-year-old Danish rider who was runner-up today and on stage 1, holds the yellow jersey.
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However, while the riders in the top seven overall have all scored some time bonuses, just 11 seconds separates them. And then comes a group of 20 men, all on equal time at 12 seconds, with Dunbar among them ahead of tomorrow's hardest test.
Stage 4 is 191km from Krk to Labin, with 3,600m of elevation gain, including a HC ascent just after the halfway point. There are then four smaller climbs, including a 2km kicker up to the finish line. And if Dunbar is in good form - as he returns to action following his Vuelta exit - he can compete for stage and general classification honours tomorrow.
Alla CRO Race arriva la prima vittoria in carriera da professionista per Nicolò Parisini ???#EurosportCICLISMO #CroRace pic.twitter.com/RtPJEyFyaX
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