Cork cyclist Eddie Dunbar hopes his breaks are luckier in 2021

HOME COMFORTS: Eddie Dunbar training near his home in Banteer, Co Cork last summer. ‘I spent all of December in Ireland which was really nice. Normally you’re away and only have three-four days to get ready for Christmas but it was lovely to spend a bit of time here at home with my family and my girlfriend Niamh and friends,’ he says. Picture: Inpho/Bryan Keane

Covid-19 hasn’t been kind to many in the jobs market and in the fickle world of professional cycling it’s been especially tough.

With races getting canned by the day, the customary jam-packed February calendar is looking rather empty and when team sponsors need publicity to justify the money they invest it’s little surprise they pick their strongest line-up.

Cork's Eddie Dunbar is a case in point. The 24-year old INEOS Grenadiers rider was pulled from the 5-day Etoile de Besseges in France last week at late notice when team management opted for 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal instead.

The latter had been due to race the Volta A Comunitat Valenciana in Spain but when that got postponed, Dunbar was sidelined in favour of the Colombian.

But the former Junior Tour of Ireland winner finally ended his five-month wait to pin on race numbers when he started the four-day Tour de la Provence on Thursday.

“I finally get back to racing this week,” he exhaled in relief from his base in Monaco recently.

“Provence is first up and after that I'll be building for the Ardennes Classics in April, Tour of the Basque Country, and then we'll reassess how I'm going. If I get a result in the Ardennes, the Giro might be a possibility and if not I will take a break and refocus. The Olympics and the Vuelta are two good races (to target) later in the season.

“But I won't get caught up in any particular race because every race is important. Some get more coverage (than others) but every race is a big one.

“There's no training races anymore, that day is gone. Any sort of a result in a race now is good.”

Dunbar had a very difficult 2020 and only raced 24 days. In contrast, fellow Irishman - and Monaco neighbour - Sam Bennett clocked up 68.

Covid had much to do with Dunbar's lack of competition, but an ill-timed broken collarbone from a crash on stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico in early September ended his season prematurely.

“Obviously I missed a lot of racing last year,” he acknowledged. “I missed another Grand Tour which was frustrating.

“I still thought I could do the Giro after the crash at Tirreno because I had three weeks to recover. I did it before at The Rás, but two weeks after the crash I went down again and that was that.

“I went back on the road maybe a week after (the Tirreno crash). I was overly motivated and too keen because I put in so much effort all year.

I worked so hard to be good for the Giro. I came back to Monaco and was out training with G (Geraint Thomas) and crashed again on a descent.

“It was slightly damp and I was going around a bend...I didn’t do anything I hadn't done many times before but the front wheel just disappeared and I went down on the collarbone again.

“I thought the Vuelta might be an option in late October but when that (second crash) happened the season was done.”

And the Worlds too.

“It hurt a lot,” he continued.

“Any healing done in the two weeks before (that second crash) was undone. It was very frustrating and at that point the head was in a bad way. I missed Tirreno, the Giro, the Vuelta and the Worlds. It would have been nice to get another Worlds under the belt…that course looked good for me,” he said of the Italian venue.

He took the advice of team management, drew a line under 2020 and just let the air out, figuratively speaking. He retreated to his home in Banteer where he stays with his mother when he's back, and filled up the tank again.

“I spent all of December in Ireland which was really nice. Normally you're away and only have 3-4 days to get ready for Christmas but it was lovely to spend a bit of time here at home with my family and my girlfriend Niamh and friends.

“I moved to Monaco in December 2019 because the team is based here and I have access to the team house, my coach is here and obviously a few of the guys in the team are here.

“I have settled in and I like it. The training...it´s obviously a lot different to Banteer!” 

Aside from the favourable climate and terrain, professional athletes from many sports choose to live in the Principality of Monaco because income tax is not levied there. It is a tax haven and choosing to live in one can be a lucrative decision.

“I do like it here,” says Dunbar. “It's a great base to train and we get great support from the team. I spend a bit of time with Sam (Bennett), especially over the last year we got to know each other well.

“My girlfriend Niamh and (his wife) Tara are good friends too and that helps.

“Sam is the guy I see most over here. He was in a similar situation to me coming here. He moved over and had to get used to the place. It would be no harm to scrub up on my French, though.” 

INEOS Grenadiers are funded by the British billionaire Jim Radcliffe, chairman of the multinational chemicals company Ineos, after which the team is named. They are the PSG or Real Madrid of cycling and have arguably the strongest squad - and biggest budget - in the sport.

In the off-season they added four marquee climbers to challenge for the sport´s headline events, namely the three Grand Tours. Dunbar, however, isn't fazed by the challenge posed by anyone and prefers to focus on himself.

“I just have to stay upright,” he laughed when asked where he fits into the team and what he needs to do now.

“I never have an issue training or working hard. I can do that as well as anyone.

“For me, it's about getting a consistent run of racing and that's what I am lacking, compared to most guys my age.

“I have suffered injuries and setbacks but any time I get a run something happens, but the main thing is staying upright.

“That (crashing) is part of cycling too and some things are outside your control.

Hopefully I can get that consistency this year into my legs and that will be the difference for me.