Eddie Dunbar is in his sixth season as a professional cyclist, and if the Corkman knows one thing about the sport it's that things rarely go according to plan.
If the first half of the 2023 season went as he´d mapped out, the 26-year old would have had a heavy February and March race schedule, sandwiched by a couple of training camps and maybe one more stage race in April before the Giro d´Italia.
To say that didn't happen is an understatement because a crash on the first stage of his season opener in Valencia sidelined him from competitive action for over two months, and his misery was compounded by a delayed diagnosis for a fractured bone in his hand.
But like he has so often done in his somewhat crash-blighted career, the diminutive Dunbar (26) has picked himself up, dusted himself down, and at the start of the 106th Giro d´Italia, is recoiled and ready for road once more.
Tomorrow, he'll roll down the start ramp for the opening stage of the Italian Grand Tour, knowing he carries the Team Jayco Alula's General Classification hopes - and a certain amount of pressure to prove he can withstand the rigours of a three-week race.
Hopefully we can give the Irish fans something to cheer about over the three weeks and I've no doubt we will
He´s one of just two Irishmen in the 176-rider field - Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) the other, so there's pressure there too to try and fill the enormous vacuum left (in Ireland) following the retirements of cousins Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche in 2021.
"I'm here, I’m healthy…so it's up to the road now," he told us from the team hotel in Abruzzo on Thursday.
"The work is done. We did a recon of tomorrow´s opening time-trial, a few sponsorship engagements, we had the team presentation at 10 o’ clock last night and I managed to cram in a massage as well, so (we're) almost ready to go."
Dunbar and Healy´s early season campaigns couldn't have been any more opposed. Dunbar spent most of it with his hand in a cast, logging miles on his home trainer from his balcony in sun-kissed Monaco. Healy, in contrast, blazing a trail across Europe with two huge wins in Italy, and almost three more in the Spring Classics.
The latter has become one of the most talked-about riders in years with his attacking style and never-say-die approach earning him an incredible second at Amstel Gold and fourth at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
"Ben is obviously going fairly well. He's coming in here with massive confidence, so hopefully we can give the Irish fans something to cheer about over the three weeks and I've no doubt we will," added former national champion Dunbar, riding in the colours of Team Jayco Alula this season.
The Giro d´Italia is one of the sport´s three Grand Tours held annually and is only second to the Tour de France in terms of importance and prestige. The Spanish equivalent - the Vuelta A Espana - is usually in August and September.
In his six seasons as a pro cyclist, Dunbar has only started one Grand Tour; the 2019 Giro, where he finished a very impressive 22nd overall while also grabbing third on a stage.
"It’s mad, I've known I’ve been doing this Giro for a while but it’s still four years since I last did it. So there’s still an unknown about how I'll fare.
"I think it will be a learning experience no matter what way it goes, trying to play catch up to the guys around me.
"I’ve done the training and ticked all the boxes, so for me, I must get into the race, get stuck in and stay out of trouble.
"I've only done one Grand Tour in my life, so it feels like I’m starting from scratch."
In his most recent outing - the week-long Tour de Romandie in Switzerland, he finished ninth overall, and most encouragingly, imposed himself on the race´s Queen stage which featured a 20-kilometre climb to the finish.
There, he was climbing with the best in the world - and any lingering doubts about his hand were allayed.
"I went there with the intention of helping my team-mate Simon (Yates) and coming out of it better than I went in.
"I wanted to test myself from a General Classification point of view on the climbs because the last time I did a long climb like that for an hour was the 2021 Tour of Suisse. That´s a long time ago.
"So I wanted to give my legs a test and I did. I think it was a solid result in some good company and that last 10k on the climb, being there and pushing on was a big confidence boost.
"I should be that bit better this week so that’s positive."
The Giro is 3,448 kilometres long over 21 stages, with two rest days. There are three individual time-trials and a brutally hard final week with three huge days in the mountains.
It has been billed as a showdown between reigning world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick Step) from Belgium and Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma), so being under the radar suits Dunbar just fine.
"They are the two guys everyone is talking about.
"Any race they’ve done they’ve shown the level they’re at and they are the two favourites.
"Tao (Geoghegan-Hart, INEOS Grenadiers) is really strong too, he was riding well in the Alps recently and he has won the Giro before.
"Then you have guys like (Alexsandr) Vlasov, (Thibaut) Pinot, (Romain) Bardet too. They´re all going to be there or thereabouts.
"For me, I have to be realistic.
"With the start to the season I’ve had there is a lack of racing there. I think a top 10 overall would be successful in my head, given the circumstances.
"But you never know, if the stars align I might push up a bit more and see how it goes.
"And if it’s a disaster in the opening week, I'll switch to looking for stage wins.
"I think the main thing (for me) is to go into this race with the support of the guys and just be a GC leader and learning that role in a three-week tour will be very important. Top 10 is a good realistic goal, from where I´m coming from."
