Eddie Dunbar's Groundhog Day leads to Italian adventure

In February of this year Eddie Dunbar must have felt he was living in a bizarre version of Groundhog Day.

Last season he crashed on the opening day of the Volta Valenciana in Spain and suffered a fractured bone in his hand. This year he hit the deck on the opening day of the UAE Tour and was told he had cracked a bone in his other hand.

For two years in a row, he found himself sidelined early in the season, something that was sure to affect his buildup to the Giro d'Italia.

On both occasions it entailed a few days off the bike, an extended period of time on a home trainer, and many weeks away from competition.

Today - Saturday - he lines out in the Giro, his big goal of the year, hoping that another pattern from last season is repeated.

Twelve months ago he went into the race as the designated leader of the Jayco AlUla squad. It was the first time in his career to be a team’s protected rider in a three-week event.

The Corkman rode brilliantly, riding shoulder to shoulder with some of the world’s best riders in the high mountains and was sitting fourth overall with three days to go. Illness would see him slip to seventh by the time the race finished in Rome, but the result was still hugely encouraging.

Aside from being the best Irish showing since Stephen Roche won the race back in 1987, it also proved that Dunbar has what it takes to finish in the podium - or even win - one of cycling’s big three-week races.

"It was my first attempt at riding GC in a Grand Tour, and the second attempt at a Grand Tour," Dunbar told RTÉ Sport.

"So I think the whole process was good. You were up there with the best and there was a lot learned from it."

Building on that Giro performance was his big goal for this year. Crashing early in the season for