Eddie Dunbar has unfortunately lost time on the first proper climbs of Vuelta 2023, the Irishman unexpectedly being distanced on the final climb to the finish line in Arinsal today at the end of 158.5km of racing.
The Jayco AlUla rider, who placed 7th overall in the Giro d'Italia back in May, looked to be comfortable in the group of favourites as they reached the halfway point of the final climb. But he was then distanced; perhaps still to shake off the impact of two crashes during the wet team time trial in Barcelona on Saturday.
With 4km remaining to the finish line, Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) was pushing the pace hard on the front, with team mate Juan Ayuso on his wheel and Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) third wheel.
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At that point, it was clear the two remaining breakaway men - Lennard Kämna (Bora-hansgrohe) and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) - were about to be caught. The race was on from the favourites' group for stage honours and time bonuses, as well as time gaps perhaps.
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That dynamic meant the pressure remained on, with Dunbar unexpectedly losing contact when the group when it was still quite large, numbering about 30 to 40. He then continued to lose time all the way to the line, shedding 2:37 to stage winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep).
Today's lost time is a big blow to Dunbar's general classification aspirations and he is now in 42nd overall, some 3:32 down on new race leader Evenepoel. That ride is way below Dunbar's climbing abilities and it will be interesting to see if the Irishman is suffering from crash injuries.
The stage was won by world TT champion Evenepoel after he timed his sprint to the line to perfection, and also had far too much power for his rivals. He pulled a few lengths clear of runner-up Vingegaard, with Ayuso in 3rd place.
Evenepoel, who crashed into a woman after the finish and cut his head quite badly, has taken the race lead for his efforts today. In the final 100m, Evenepoel had Vingegaard right on his wheel but the power of his finishing surge was such he opened an advantage of several lengths, with a one-second time gap registered.
More to come.
