Ryan, Dunbar lose time after field split by crash in Basque Country | Video

Arhcie Ryan and Eddie Dunbar were impacted by the crash in the finale of the stage at Itzulia Basque Country, in very wet conditions, with the field splitting and the Irish duo losing time (File Photo: Massimo Fulgenzi-SCA-Cor Vos)

Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost) and Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) were both caught out by a late crash on stage 2 at Itzulia Basque Country, which occurred just outside the 3km to go marker, meaning the time loss counted in the general classification.

In very wet conditions, and with much of the final run off in speeds of between 60-70km per hour, the approach to the finish in Kanbo at the end of 160km of racing was sketchy and there were several crashes.

The biggest incidents - with Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) the main victim - occurred on a very fast downhill stretch when a group of riders came down on the left side of the road.

While they were all able to get back on their bikes and set off in pursuit of the main field, that bunch split in two as a result of the crash, with Irish riders Ryan and Dunbar caught in the wrong half.

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Ryan finished some 21 seconds down on the 40-strong front bunch and just a few seconds behind a small chasing group, placing 51st on the stage. Dunbar was in the second half of the bunch, which finished just two seconds behind Ryan, with the Corkman placing 93rd.

The stage was won, in a sprint from the front bunch, by Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team); the 23-year-old taking his first World Tour win after claiming two rounds of the French Cup in consecutive days last month.

Primož Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe) continues to lead the race, after his stage 1 TT victory, ahead of today's stage 3, which involves six cat and cat 3 climbs on the 191km race to Altsasu.

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