Just 24 hours after his emotional victory atop Peñas Blancas at the Vuelta a España, Eddie Dunbar (Pinarelo Q36.5) has crashed out on the penultimate stage.
After the medical comunicado revealed that Dunbar had come down on his left side after 175km, his team later confirmed he had fractured his collarbone, which will now require surgery.
He had been part of the more than 50-rider first chase group behind the breakaway, which was scattered along the road as a brutal, epic queen stage played out. He was last seen being caught by the peloton, but came down 11km from the finish, on the tricky roads heading towards the foot of the final climb, Collado del Alguacil.
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It's the latest in a long list of injuries for the Irishman, who finally rediscovered his best on stage 19 after a long road back, having broken his ankle in a collision back in March. He's suffered broken collarbones in the early part of his career, broke his hand in consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, and struggled with a knee problem.
"Unfortunately, Eddie Dunbar sustained a collarbone fracture on the left side during Stage 20 of La Vuelta a España, so he had to withdraw from the race and will undergo surgery," read a statement from the Swiss team.
"Eddie claimed victory on Stage 19 of La Vuelta, delivering Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s first-ever Grand Tour stage win. The team wishes him a speedy recovery."
He had been hoping to close out his season at some of the Italian Autumn Classics, but those plans will likely be cancelled as a result of his recovery.
Dunbar was one of three riders to abandon on stage 20, with Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Chris Hamilton (Picnic-PostNL) also forced to leave the race one day before the finale in Granada on Sunday after crashing at high speed early on stage 20.
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