Eddie Dunbar is set for his third appearance in Il Lombardia and goes into the race among a very strong quartet within Team Jacyo AlUla. With the Irishman, Simon Yates, Filippo Zana and Chris Harper, the Australia World Tour team has a line-up capable of a strong result, perhaps even a podium finish.
While Dunbar is a stage race rider, rather than a one-day specialist, tomorrow's course is so hill - with 4,400 metres of elevation gain - it can suit him. He goes into the race after solid showings at CRO Race in Croatia and at the one-day Gran Piemonte (1.Pro) event in Italy on Thursday.
However, if Dunbar is to take a top result in the final monument of the year, he must get among the best one-day riders in the world, many of whom are also the best climbers' in the world, and that will be a very tough asked considering the power some of those riders have.
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They include Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost). Carapaz's Irish team mate, Ben Healy, could also threaten for the podium.
In Gran Piemonte, Dunbar placed an unspectacular 22nd, though he was in a large group just 16 seconds down on race winner Andrea Bagioli )Soudal-QuickStep). On the strength of that performance - and after a good hit out at CRO Race after his Vuelta exit - Dunbar can definitely have an impact tomorrow.
”We have a really strong team for Lombardia," said Jayco AlUla sports director, David McPartland. "A squad built especially for this race with the strongest climbing group ever. Yates, Dunbar, Zana and Harper are all riders who should be in the finale when the race enters its decisive phase.
"All the boys are super motivated, they have raced really well together during this recent Italian block and we hope to finish it off well and achieve a good result in Bergamo.”
