He's endured a longer than expected wait to begin his first Tour de France, but Eddie Dunbar is exactly where he needs to be.
"In terms of training, this is probably the fittest I’ve ever been," the Cork man told RTÉ Sport on the eve of the race.
"I haven’t gotten too many results this year. I’ve had some good performances, but I’ve been really consistent. From last October until now, I’ve been really consistent. And it’s something my coach always says to me now. He said, 'you’ve never been this consistent, and you’ve never been as fit as you are now,’ which is always a confidence boost."
Dunbar was always a talented rider, dominating domestic events from a young age and then winning the Under 23 Tour of Flanders back in 2017. However, four seasons with the Ineos Grenadiers team saw him overlooked for Tour selection.
He then focused on other races during his first two seasons with his current Jayco AlUla team, netting a fine seventh in the 2023 Giro d’Italia and then winning two stages in last year’s Vuelta a Espana.
And now, at 28 years of age, he is finally making his Tour debut.
"It’s a big event," he said. "Not just in cycling, you can feel that it’s more like a worldwide event. There’s more people here. It’s bigger, it’s more stressful, stuff like that. It’s special to be part of it."
The Tour gets under way this weekend with two sprinter-friendly stages. Dunbar and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) are the two Irish competitors in the peloton, with the 2020 Tour de France points jersey winner Sam Bennett unfortunately missing selection by his Decathlon-Ag2r-La Mondiale team.
He is yet to return to that level of form and was told in the run-up to the event that he had to win a stage in the Giro d’Italia in order to secure a place in the Tour. That Giro success didn’t happen, leaving just Dunbar and Healy flying the flag.
Dunbar’s participation in the Tour was an open secret; he and his team made his intended selection clear to RTÉ earlier this season, but on the condition of confidentiality. That early green light gave Dunbar time to prepare, building up gradually for a very big target.
However a crash in Tirreno Adriatico saw him hit his head, complicating things. And while he returned to competition just under a month later in the Itzulia Basque Country event, he dropped out on stage 6 after suffering headaches.
"I’ve escaped illness this year," he said. "I had that crash in Tirreno and suffered quite a bit with the concussion, which hampered the April racing period.
"It’s always a recurring theme with concussion. You don’t notice it [at the time], but then when you look back in it and talk to a few specialists as well, it was clear to see that that had a big effect on me. I probably should have taken a bit more of a break from racing.
"That was probably the only period that I had a bit of a mishap."
Dealing with the heat
Dunbar resumed racing again in late April and had a good buildup since then. He lined out alongside Tour favorites Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) in the Criterium du Dauphine, and compared well early on.
He was eighth in the stage four time trial, conceding just 20 seconds to Pogacar.
"That was probably the best TT I had probably ever done, I reckon, in terms of numbers. And in the calibre of field that were there as well," he said. "So to be in the top 10 in that company was pretty good for the confidence.
"When you do a TT like that, it’s pretty clear that the shape is good. It’s a great test. I was very pleased with that."
Dunbar jumped up to sixth overall as a result and went into the big mountains hoping to keep performing. However the extreme heat of stage seven saw him suffer and slip back. He eventually finished 19th overall.
"It was definitely the heat," he said. "That seems to be kind of reoccurring theme. Obviously, last year at the start of the Vuelta, that’s where I lost all my time as well.
"Other than that day I think my condition was really good. I had a lot more good days than bad days, so I was happy with that."
Dunbar followed that up with a period of time training at altitude in the French Alps, plus some work trying to adjust to high temperatures. He hopes that will pay off at the Tour.
"I need to accept now that once it goes above that 35 degree heat, that is obviously not something I was brought up with either in Banteer," he quipped.
"I’m much more used to the wind and the rain and cold weather."
Dunbar is a climbing specialist and will aim to steer out of trouble in the first 10 days. He has had more than his fair share of crashes during his career and staying out of danger will be a big priority.
Another will be helping his Australian team-mate Ben O’Connor, who is the team’s designated leader.
Dunbar is a talented rider but accepts that role; O’Connor was second in last year’s Vuelta a España, as well as in cycling’s world championships, and has the chance of a high overall finish. He’s got more experience than his Irish team-mate, and so the latter is willing to work for him.
"It’s more so the second and third week where that terrain suits me much better – that’s where I can show my strengths and be there for Ben," Dunbar said.
"My main job this over this next three weeks is looking after Ben if he’s on course for the general classification."
Is there room for personal ambition?
Like Dunbar, Ben Healy is a very talented rider. He went close to stage wins during his own debut last year, going clear in breakaways and being the last rider left out front. However the hectic general classification behind saw the teams of Pogacar and Vingegaard ride hard at the front for extended periods, quashing Healy’s chances.
Like Dunbar he was due to ride for the designated team leader in this year’s Tour, but illness ruled 2024 king of the mountains winner Richard Carapaz out.
Healy will have his own chance as a result, hunting stage wins during the Tour. Does Dunbar envisage any personal opportunities of his own?
"I think if Ben [O’Connor] is up there, you have to give him the support. He’s earned that with his results in grand tours," he answered. "Obviously if opportunities come up, you have to be ready. It’s the Tour de France, and you never know what situations you might find yourself in. But it’ll be a long three weeks."
It’s possible that Dunbar will get a chance over the course of the race. That will be even more so the case if O’Connor – who has had fluctuating form this year – finds himself out of the running.
If that happens, Dunbar’s two stage wins in last year’s Vuelta a España will stand to him, in terms of self-belief and tactics.
The first of those victories was into Padron and saw him launch a perfectly timed surge from the day’s breakaway, winning stage 11.
The second was a real test of his climbing ability, and saw him triumph atop Picon Blanco on the final mountain stage of that race.
"They gave confidence and experience as well," Dunbar said of those wins.
"When you’re in a race situation like that, if there is a grand tour stage on the line, you just have to use your head as well as your legs."
The next week and a half will feature flat to undulating stages, with the first big summit finish not coming until stage 12.
Dunbar is looking forward to the mountains, particularly the infamous Mont Ventoux. Whether he ends up riding for O’Connor throughout the three weeks or will get his own chances here and there, he will relish riding his first Tour.
"I’m just excited," he said. "I haven’t been this excited about a race in a while."
