Eddie Dunbar picks up a great stage win and the yellow jersey at the Junior Tour of Ireland today in Ennis (Photo: Adrian O'Connor www.blackumbrellaphotography.com )
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Brian Canty
Having taken a podium placing on the opening time trial stage of the Junior Tour of Ireland in Co Clare on Tuesday night and spent most of yesterday up the road in an escape, Eddie Dunbar has hit the jackpot on the race today, Thursday.
The first year junior from Banteer has romped home to victory on the 103km stage 3 starting and finishing in Ennis and has also wrestled the overall leaders’ yellow jersey from Mark Downey of the Nicolas Roche Performance Team.
Riding for the Stena Ireland team, Dunbar was in the very first move of the day and was never seen by the bunch again. The gap went up and down, between 1 minute and 2:30, for a long time. And by Liscannor the bunch had closed it to just 20 seconds.
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However, Dunbar simply redoubled his efforts, dug deeper and stayed away alone to take the win into Ennis, having pulled the gap back out to more than two minutes on the bunch by the finish.
The sprint from the bunch for second place was won by Dutchman Justin van Empel (Temp Bruns Veldhoven) with Stena Line Ireland’s Thomas Fallon in 3rd place on the stage and Australian Owen Gillott (NRPT Standard Life) in 4th.
While Dunbar is now in yellow, he also holds the climbers’ classification lead and first year junior classification lead. The green jersey has gone to Harry Franklin (De Ver Cycles).
The climbers’ jersey will be worn tomorrow by Tracca Baptiste (Pole Espoir De Caen) while yellow jersey wearer this morning, Mark Downey, will wear the white jersey of leader of the first-year junior classification.
But once again, the day belonged to Dunbar who underlined his phenomenal talent with a simply audacious attack that few would have dared try, and even fewer would have pulled off.
His aggression is well documented and has already borne fruit this year with a string of solo wins; the Coachford Classic and the Dungarvan GP, to name but two.
And from the gun today he got into a dangerous-looking move of around eight riders which contained the yellow jersey of Downey.
The stage had just three climbs, but one of those was after just five kilometres and it was around then that the break forged clear.
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They had two more climbs to crest - a category three lump after 19 kilometres and a more testing category two climb midway through the race.
By then, however, Dunbar's driving of the breakaway had reduced it in number, with Downey being the biggest casualty. And with around 50 kilometres to go, it was down to just two; Dunbar and a French rider from the Pole Espoir de Caen team.
But he too found the pace too much and Dunbar struck out for glory on his own. He had tried a similar move a day previous but that failed, but he wasn't deterred this time around and he pulled out a gap of over two minutes, and later two and a half minutes.
Amazingly, not even the collective weight of the Nicolas Roche Performance Team or any of the UK and other foreign teams could reel in the man out front.
Dunbar now has teammates Thomas Fallon and Dylan Foley in excellent form, and they occupy third and fourth overall. They have lost Matt Doyle, however, as he has withdrawn with an injury that troubled him coming into the race.
Dunbar has all but one jersey. He holds the KOM jersey, the first year junior jersey and the yellow jersey.
It will take something special to stop him on this form.
But tomorrow's stage is a leg-breaker and he can expect attacks from all sides, all day. The riders travel 109 kilometres in a north westerly direction, taking in the Burren, Fanore, Doolin, Ennistymon, Inagh before the finish again in Ennis. There are a whopping six climbs, with the first category one of the race so far at 66 kilometres.
Full results fromt today:
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