Stage 11 of the La Vuelta a Espana race witnessed the triumph of Eddie Dunbar, which proved to be his inaugural Grand Tour victory. This cycling contest took place at the state-of-the-art Campus Tecnológico Cortizo in Padrón, where Dunbar represented Team Jayco – AlUla.
He surpassed competitors Quinten Hermans from Belgium and Max Poole from Britain, finishing first with a time record of 3:44:52. Dunbar seized his chance to charge ahead in the final stretch of the cycle race, effectively outpacing the ones hot on his trail.
Unable to contain his astonishment, Dunbar admitted that his winning the race came as a pleasant surprise, given that he hadn’t participated in such an event for a significant period. His past experience and intuition propelled him to the finishing line. Dunbar confessed to feeling exhausted towards the steep climb, but upon noticing that his competitors were also struggling, he plotted his strategy accordingly.
Despite understanding his strength in sprinting, particularly after an endurance-testing race, Dunbar realised the requirement of a sustained effort. He was forced to extend his sprint for 600 meters, an unusually long distance, but his risk paid off, leading to his spectacular victory. The Irish cyclist is still in awe of his performance.
There’s more to the story, stay tuned…