Eddie Dunbar's first Tour de France has come to a premature conclusion, with the Corkman a non-starter on today's eighth stage of the race.
Dunbar came down hard in a crash inside six kilometres to go on Friday’s stage, hitting the deck when a number of riders ahead of him were involved in a sudden pileup. While he was able to remount and make it to the finish, he underwent medical tests due to pain in his left wrist and elsewhere.
Those checks were inconclusive and his Jayco AlUla team decided to wait until Saturday morning before making a decision.
A team spokesperson told RTÉ Sport before the stage that he would not be taking part and then confirmed that officially as the riders rolled out of Saint-Méen-le-Grand.
"Following a crash in the final kilometres of yesterday’s stage, Dunbar has been suffering with pain in his wrist and a decision was taken to stop, for his safety," Jayco AlUla said in a media announcement.
The team subsequently told RTÉ Sport that he will undergo further examinations to confirm that nothing is broken. "The initial X-ray didn't show anything," the spokesperson said, "but we want to be sure so he’ll have another test."
Dunbar is one of the most talented Irish riders in the peloton but has also had more than his share of misfortune during his career. He crashed out of last year’s Giro d’Italia but returned for the Vuelta a Espana, earning two superb stage victories.
He had started well in his debut Tour, taking a fine fourth place on Thursday’s sixth stage.
That was won by fellow Irishman Ben Healy, who was involved in the same breakaway as Dunbar before going solo 42km from the finish line.
Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) also came down in the same crash yesterday, but was relatively unharmed. He started Saturday’s stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand to Laval, finishing 28th to stay 11th in the general classication.
Italy's Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) fought off Belgian Wout van Aert to win stage eight, with defending champion Tadej Pogacar retaining the yellow jersey.
Milan, riding his first Tour, looked to have been caught off guard when Van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) hit the front, but the Italian battled back to overtake the Belgian, with Australian Kaden Groves (Alpecin–Deceuninck) coming in third.
Slovenia's Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) remains 54 seconds ahead of Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) in the overall standings.
It is not yet clear when Dunbar will resume competition, with the outcome of his upcoming medical to inform that decision.
The Vuelta a Espana is a possibility. It begins on 23 August.
Additonal reporting: Reuters
