EDDIE DUNBAR WILL spearhead the Irish national team at the An Post Rás which gets underway from Dublin Castle this Sunday and concludes eight days later in Skerries.
It’s been a topsy-turvy month for the 19-year old Corkman who had set the Tour of California as one of his major goals for the first half of the season.
After signing for top-ranked American professional cycling team Axeon Hagens Berman at the latter end of last year, the two-time Junior Tour of Ireland winner was keen to make an impression there against the world’s best.
However, a terrible crash while out training near his home in Banteer in mid-April saw him break his collar bone and California was promptly shelved.
It was his second collar bone break in 12 months but after being operated on at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin within 48 hours of the accident, Dunbar awoke pain-free and was back training two days later.
A call from Cycling Ireland came at an opportune time; a five-man Irish team would be entered in the An Post Rás for the first time in years. Dunbar didn’t need to put the caller on hold.
“Straight after the crash I thought ‘California is gone’ but then the Rás came up,” he tells The42.
“It was always in my mind that I could potentially do it and then Cycling Ireland asked me to be in the team and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
“I told them it would be an honour to part of it.”
It’s a team of four young debutants in Dunbar, Christopher McGlinchey, Matt Teggart, Mark Downey and the experienced Ronan McLaughlin.
The latter will be the team’s ‘road captain’, instructing the latter quartet on what moves to follow and when to keep the powder dry.
“I’m certainly looking forward to it, it’s my home race, I’ll be racing for Ireland and that’s going to be a nice feeling leaving Dublin on Sunday.”
He’s never raced the Rás before but has raced eight days, so he’s hoping that’ll stand to him.
“I’ve done the Tour of Britain last year and the Volta Alentejo in Portugal this year was five days.
“Britain was tough because it was just before the world champs and riders were trying to get into shape. Hopefully that hard racing will stand to me over the next week.
“Having said that, I’m expecting the Rás to be tough due to the fact there are only five riders in a team and the Rás is almost impossible to control.”
"I thought ‘California is gone’ but then the Rás came up" - Eddie Dunbar on Ireland's call
EDDIE DUNBAR WILL spearhead the Irish national team at the An Post Rás which gets underway from Dublin Castle this Sunday and concludes eight days later in Skerries.
It’s been a topsy-turvy month for the 19-year old Corkman who had set the Tour of California as one of his major goals for the first half of the season.
After signing for top-ranked American professional cycling team Axeon Hagens Berman at the latter end of last year, the two-time Junior Tour of Ireland winner was keen to make an impression there against the world’s best.
However, a terrible crash while out training near his home in Banteer in mid-April saw him break his collar bone and California was promptly shelved.
It was his second collar bone break in 12 months but after being operated on at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin within 48 hours of the accident, Dunbar awoke pain-free and was back training two days later.
A call from Cycling Ireland came at an opportune time; a five-man Irish team would be entered in the An Post Rás for the first time in years. Dunbar didn’t need to put the caller on hold.
“Straight after the crash I thought ‘California is gone’ but then the Rás came up,” he tells The42.
“It was always in my mind that I could potentially do it and then Cycling Ireland asked me to be in the team and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
“I told them it would be an honour to part of it.”
It’s a team of four young debutants in Dunbar, Christopher McGlinchey, Matt Teggart, Mark Downey and the experienced Ronan McLaughlin.
The latter will be the team’s ‘road captain’, instructing the latter quartet on what moves to follow and when to keep the powder dry.
He’s never raced the Rás before but has raced eight days, so he’s hoping that’ll stand to him.
“I’ve done the Tour of Britain last year and the Volta Alentejo in Portugal this year was five days.
“Britain was tough because it was just before the world champs and riders were trying to get into shape. Hopefully that hard racing will stand to me over the next week.
“Having said that, I’m expecting the Rás to be tough due to the fact there are only five riders in a team and the Rás is almost impossible to control.”
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