Eddie Dunbar, the cyclist from Cork, has had to unfortunately withdraw from this year’s Giro d’Italia before its third stage, preventing him from equalling or surpassing his exceptional performance from the previous year. The news was shared by his team, Team Jayco AlUla, on Monday morning.
Dunbar’s withdrawal was a consequence of an accident that occurred during the race’s second stage, resulting in injuries below his right knee cap and numerous body scrapes. Despite completing that particular stage, further evaluation by the team’s medical professional led to the decision to remove the 27-year-old from the race in order to prevent further damage.
During the second stage on Sunday, Dunbar was involved in a collision with three other cyclists. While he was able to rejoin the group promptly, he lost momentum and fell back during the race’s first summit finish, placing 51st and 5′56 behind the stage victor, Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates. This saw him slip from 15th place to 36th overall.
This setback is unfortunate for Dunbar who achieved seventh place overall in the previous year’s Giro, which was his debut as a team lead in one of cycling’s three Grand Tours. This marked the most impressive performance by an Irish cyclist in the Giro since Stephen Roche’s victory in 1987.
Earlier this year, Dunbar had accidents in both the Volta Valenciana and the UAE Tour causing him a hand injury in the latter which led to his withdrawal from the competition for over a month. Dunbar has had a series of crashes over past seasons and can’t help but ruminate on his misfortune and its impact on his career.
There hasn’t been any indication from Team Jayco AlUla regarding the anticipated duration of Dunbar’s recovery. Depending upon how his recovery proceeds, missing out on the Giro could potentially bear an advantage. Dunbar, who has yet to participate in the Tour de France, may be considered for this iconic race if he manages to return to training sooner rather than later and consistently progresses his form.