The climbing ability Eddie Dunbar showed in junior and U23 races is now beginning to come through in pro racing. Today was a big step forward for him in that regard. Above, Tratnik won the sprint on the wet cobbles.
Irish cyclist Eddie Dunbar 5th in Volta Limburg Classic
Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar may be in his first year at ProContinental level but today he took arguably the best result of his career.
He was 5th in the Volta Limburg Classic; a 197.5km race in the undulating Limburg region of Holland.
There were a total of 38 climbs to contend with and Aqua Blue Sport's Dunbar coped more than admirably.
And while he won the U23 Tour of Flanders last year, his result today tops that because of the standard of riders he was racing against.
The field in the UCI 1.1 race was packed with ProContinental teams and one WorldTour squad in the shape of LottoNL-Jumbo.
Advertisement
But 21-year-old Dunbar has shown the climbing prowess he displayed at junior and U23 level is now transferring into elite pro racing.
Dunbar counter attacked when the first meaningful breakaway of the day was recaptured. And that set him on course for a fantastic result.
In the end the honours were fought for in a five-up sprint. And while Dunbar finished fifth of the five-man group, he said he was pleased.
He had been aiming to make the podium but both legs were cramping towards the end. The heavens also opened on the riders during the last 30-40km making for an epic finale.
Yoann Bagot (Vital Concept) and Nahom Desale (Beat Cycling Club) were the first to break clear. They scarpered up the road early but never pulled out much of a gap.
And with 140km to race they were back in the peloton. Their recapture resulted in a number of counter-attacks; one of which was successful and contained Eddie Dunbar.
He rode away with Oscar Riesebeek (Team Roompot), Marco Tizza (Nippo Fantini) and Thomas Degand (Wanty-Groupe Gobert).
Related News
Also present were Jens Van den Dool (Delta Cycling Rotterdam) and Ben Perry (Israel Cycling Academy).
They worked together and built a gap of two minutes. And with about 40km remaining they were joined by Jimmy Janssens (Cibel-Cebon) and Jan Tratnik (CCC Sprandi Polkowice).
Tratnik attacked soon after catching the six-man escape. But he was covered by Dunbar. The leaders then regrouped.
And closer to the finish Tratnik went on the attack again. This time he jumped with Riesebeek, who would crash in spectacular fashion.
Back in the peloton, as the rain lashed the riders, LottoNL-Jumbo piled on the pressure to split the race to pieces.
But it was a case of too little too late and the breakaway would survive. Tratnik took victory from Tizza and Janssens, with Dunbar fifth at five seconds.
The sprint took place on wet cobbles, with a bend just before the finish. It was never going to be to Dunbar's liking even without cramps to contend with.
“It was a really tough and stressful day on the bike. The roads were small and there were lots of short, steep climbs,” said Dunbar.
Going up road was best option
“I didn’t feel great at the beginning but felt stronger as the race progressed. I realised that whether you were in the bunch or up the road you’d be using the same amount of energy.
“And luckily I managed to find myself in a strong break of six committed guys which made it all the way to the finish.
“I knew with about 65 kilometres to go that we were not going to get caught, especially when Tratnik came to the front.
“My goal, in the end, was to try and get on the podium. But all I could do was hang on because I was cramping in both legs.”
Topics
