From Vuelta glory to surgery: fresh heartbreak strikes Eddie Dunbar
Just one day after delivering one of the most significant victories of his career, Eddie Dunbar’s Vuelta a España has ended in pain. The Irishman fractured his left collarbone in a crash on Stage 20 and will now undergo surgery.
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For Dunbar, it is another cruel interruption in a career that has repeatedly forced him to start again.
On Friday, the picture could hardly have looked more different.
Dunbar rode to a superb victory on Peñas Blancas on Stage 19, timing his effort perfectly to overhaul Santiago Buitrago in the closing kilometre and claim the first Grand Tour stage win in Pinarello Q36.5’s history.
It was his third career stage victory at the Vuelta, following his two wins in 2024, and the result carried extra significance after everything he had been through earlier in the year.
His first season with Pinarello-Q36.5 had barely begun when he was struck by a motorcyclist while riding his city bike near his home in Monaco in March. He suffered a broken ankle and spent almost three months unable to ride.
Dunbar had originally been expected to lead the team at the Giro d’Italia before supporting Tom Pidcock at the Tour de France. Instead, he spent the spring and early summer waiting for the bone to heal and wondering when his season would finally begin.
Speaking to Domestique during the Vuelta, he admitted that the latest setback had taken a serious toll.
“I’ve been down a few times and I’ve come back, but this took its time,” Dunbar said. “You just kind of wonder when it stops sometimes.”
“It took me a while to get back into it and I suffered mentally quite a bit, I’m not going to lie about that.”
It was far from the first setback Dunbar had been forced to overcome.
Crashes and injuries have followed him through much of his career. A heavy fall and concussion affected his final season in the under 23 ranks in 2017. His years at Ineos were also disrupted by crashes, while broken bones delayed the start of both of his first two seasons with Jayco AlUla.
The Irishman came into the Vuelta short of racing, but gradually rode himself into form as the race went on.
Less than 24 hours after winning on Peñas Blancas, however, his race was over.
Dunbar crashed on Stage 20 and was forced to abandon. Medical checks later confirmed a fracture to his left collarbone, with Pinarello-Q36.5 announcing that he will undergo surgery.
Instead of completing the race in Granada, he now faces another period of recovery.
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