Ireland's Eddie Dunbar came into the Vuelta a Espana a little short of form but is feeling stronger and stronger as the Grand Tour progresses and is now targeting a stage win.
The Corkman made a career breakthrough last season when he won stage 11 from a breakaway. He then backed that up by beating some of the world’s best climbers on the final mountain stage of the race, going clear on the final climb of the Picon Blanco and holding off all those behind.
Taking at least one stage this year is a big objective, and now looks more possible given that he is finding his legs again after his stage seven crash at the Tour de France and subsequent withdrawal.
"I probably took about ten days off after the Tour. So it took me a while to get back into the swing of things," Dunbar told RTÉ Sport. "My hand took definitely a good 10 days to settle down and just to get to use it properly.
"It was just heavy to function and it wasn’t great. And then the rest of the body as well took a while to come around. It just took a bit longer than expected."
He kept working away and having used the Arctic Race of Norway to return to competition, he feels that things are going in the right direction.
"I am feeling better as the race goes on," he confirmed. "I always knew that would be the case coming into the Vuelta a bit underdone and because the preparation wasn’t great as I got sick after Norway. I wasn’t really able to prepare for it in the way that I wanted.
"I used the first week to build a bit of condition. I am definitely finding my legs, which is good, so hopefully I can get an opportunity to go for a win over the next few stages."
Dunbar went clear in a large breakaway 90 kilometres before end of Thursday’s stage 15. He and the other riders in the move were outmanoeuvred by Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jamier Romo (Movistar Team), who went clear near the end of the stage and took first and second overall.
Dunbar rolled in as part of the chasing group, placing 15th but getting an important morale boost as the race continues.
"I think there are plenty of breakaway opportunities. There are probably still four or five days where the breakaway could stick until Madrid," he said, making clear that he will keep trying.
"It is just about picking the right moves and using the energy wisely."
Dunbar is riding the race with the Jayco AlUla team and with a move to the Q36.5 Pro Cycling team confirmed, it is one of his final outings with the Australian squad.
He will also line out with five others on the Irish national team in the upcoming world road race championships, which take place later this month.
Ben Healy and Dunbar are two of those confirmed for the team, along with Archie Ryan, Darren Rafferty, Rory Townsend and Ryan Mullen.
However, Ryan’s place is a little uncertain as he withdrew prior to Friday’s stage of the Vuelta due to an injury.
Either way, Dunbar believes that the Irish team can fare well on the tough course in Rwanda.
"For the Worlds, we have a really strong team, actually," he said. "Two more riders than last year, which will be good.
"I think last year we just lacked a bit of firepower to be in the right position at the right time. That was the general consensus after the race. So I think this year with Mullen there and Townsend, that gives us an extra bit of firepower to be in the best position and to help Ben go for the best result possible."
