Eddie Dunbar is holding his shape very nicely deep into the late season. His team mate Gianni Moscon won Tour of Guangxi stage 4, above. Dunbar was just behind having climbed very well.
Irish young gun Eddie Dunbar has once again shown himself as one of the strongest in a major pro race when the road goes up.
The 22-year-old is still in his first weeks riding with Team Sky but came through with flying colours at the Tour of Guangxi.
He finished 11th on the uphill finish to stage 4 in the WorldTour race earlier today after 152km.
His team was riding for Gianni Moscon and the Italian took victory on the line at Mashan Nongla Scenic Spot.
Furthermore, because he won alone and the opening three stages came down to bunch sprints, Moscon has also taken the race lead.
Advertisement
The Italian TT champion won by five seconds from young Austrian rider Felix Großschartner of Bora-hansgrohe.
And in 3rd place was Russian rider Sergei Chernetski (Astana). He was finished eight seconds down on the winner.
Eddie Dunbar crossed the line in a small group 18 seconds back. He was crossed the line 3rd of that seven-man group for 11th on the stage.
Moscon now leads overall by nine seconds from Großschartner, with Chernetski next overall at 14 seconds.
Related News
#TourofGuangxi @gro_felix finishes in a very strong second ? place while G.Moscon takes the win! #strongRide ?? pic.twitter.com/Zh19txCaW5
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) October 19, 2018
Eddie Dunbar is now 12th overall, equal on time with a number of riders 28 seconds down.
Today’s stage was crucial as it was the key opportunity for those who can climb to aim for a stage win and attack the general standings.
There is more climbing tomorrow, but the last of the four ascents facing the riders is crested 34km from the finish.
That means it will not be as influential in the outcome as the final climb today, which left no time for any regrouping.
However, there are three climbs – a cat 3 and two cat 2s – within 24km of each other, followed by 34km to the finish.
While that terrain is unlikely to split the races to pieces, some gaps may appear. And Dunbar and his colleagues should be kept busy in defending Moscon’s lead.
The race concludes on Sunday with a 169km stage starting and finishing in Guilin. There are a brace of sharp climbs one after the other, though some 40km from the finish.
More to follow.
Topics
