Eddie Dunbar pulled off his third career Vuelta a Espana stage win near the summit of the Penas Blancas, a victory nobody saw coming, least of all the Irishman himself. Dude was absolutely stunned at the finish, and honestly, who could blame him? This isn’t just another notch on his belt; this win marks Pinarello-Q36.5’s first-ever grand tour stage victory, and it was earned through pure grit on one of the toughest climbs you can imagine.
“Today Wasn’t My Day” Turns Into Epic Comeback
Dunbar’s win was absolutely wild because it sounded like he’d almost given up early on! He said, “I really didn’t expect this today, I even said in the team radio after about 50 or 60km that today wasn’t my day, I wasn’t feeling good.” What a turnaround! He still ended up in an elite four-man break, helped by having two teammates alongside him, which he said made him “a lot more comfortable.” This guy’s story is even crazier considering he had three months out this year after a bad accident where he “didn’t ride a bike at all.” To go from that to winning a stage at the Vuelta? He couldn’t believe it, and honestly, neither can we. He was initially dropped by King of the Mountains leader Santiago Buitrago on the upper slopes of the category-one climb, but Dunbar, somehow, reeled the Colombian in with less than 500m to go, speeding past him to take the win. He finished a full 14 seconds clear, with his teammate Thomas Gloag taking third for his best grand tour stage result.
Mas Clings to Red Jersey as Roglic Unleashes Fire
While Dunbar was doing his thing out front, the general classification battle behind him was pure fireworks. Race leader Enric Mas is just two days away from claiming a maiden grand tour victory, but four-time champion Primoz Roglic is making him fight for every single second. Roglic put in repeated, stinging attacks in the closing kilometers, desperately trying to claw back time on Mas. Richard Carapaz, who actually won on this very climb in 2022, also launched an attack from the peloton earlier in the stage, but it was foiled. Even stage 12 winner Jakob Omrzel put in a fruitless dig. Movistar worked their tails off to wrestle back control of the peloton after a super testing first half of the day. Roglic’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe took to the front on the lower slopes, aiming to put Mas and his dwindling supply of teammates under massive pressure. EF Education-EasyPost also forced the issue, setting an infernal pace that thinned the group down until only the top six in the overall standings remained. Mas successfully covered every single one of those attacks, even though he looked fatigued at points, with the top six crossing the line one behind the other.
This battle is going down to the wire! Tomorrow brings the brutal “queen stage,” another massive day in the mountains. Can Mas hold onto that lead with Roglic breathing down his neck, or will we see another late-stage shocker? Get ready for some serious drama.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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