Crash forces Eddie Dunbar to abandon debut Tour de France

Eddie Dunbar has abandoned his debut Tour de France after injuring his wrist in a crash in the closing kilometres of stage 7. His Jayco-Alula squad announced on Saturday that he would not start stage 8 as a precaution.

“Eddie Dunbar has abandoned the Tour de France and will not start stage 8,” read the Jayco-Alula statement.

“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.”

Dunbar fell heavily when he slammed on the brakes in an attempt to avoid the mass crash that forced Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) to abandon the Tour with a concussion and saw João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) lose more than ten minutes.

After remounting and completing the stage, Dunbar underwent scans in the Tour’s mobile x-ray truck at the finish. Although no fractures were immediately reported, the pain in Dunbar’s wrist meant he was unable to start on Saturday.

Dunbar’s Grand Tour career has been blighted by crashes. He abandoned the 2023 Vuelta a España after a crash in the opening week, and he was forced out of last year’s Giro d’Italia after injuring his knee in a crash on stage 2.

The Corkman also suffered early-season fractures in both 2023 and 2024 that kept him out of action for much of the Spring, though on each occasion, he recovered to deliver strong displays in Grand Tours.

In 2023, he placed seventh overall at the Giro, while in 2024, he claimed two stage victories at the Vuelta.

Dunbar was pencilled in for his belated Tour debut since the start of the season, where he was deployed in support of Ben O’Connor. He also had the freedom to pursue personal success, and he placed fourth at Vire on stage 6 as his compatriot Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) soloed to victory.