Eddie Dunbar ruled out of stage race action with Covid-19 positive
Posted on: August 2nd, 2021
Eddie Dunbar has suffered a set-back in the run-in to an anticipated Vuelta a España debut as he has returned a positive result in a test for Covid-19.
The Irishman, who has just competed for Ireland in the road race at the Tokyo Olympics, had been scheduled to ride the five-stage Vuelta a Burgos, which gets under tomorrow.
However, Ineos Grenadiers has now confirmed the 24-year-old is out of the race due to the Covid-19 test result. And his place in the team is instead being taken by Carlos Rodriguez.
“A last-minute change to our Vuelta a Burgos roster, after Eddie Dunbar returned a pre-flight positive PCR test ahead of joining the team in Burgos. Carlos Rodriguez will be his replacement,” the team said in a brief statement on social media.
It is unclear what impact that test result will have on Dunbar’s selection prospects for the Vuelta, which starts in just 12 days time. If the test proved to be a false positive he would be eligible for La Vuelta.
However, if the test result was confirmed and it was found the Irishman had the virus, the 12-day window to the start of La Vuelta would probably rule him out of the Spanish Grand Tour.
Either way it’s a blow for Dunbar, who has been riding well this season. He finished the road race at the Olympics after going on the attack for a period with Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Vincenzo Nibali (Italy).
Before the Games he put in arguably the best performance of his career when he won the young riders’ classification at the Tour de Suisse, where he was 12th overall.
Dunbar was among the very best climbers in the race and was the main team asset on the climbs for team mate, and eventual overall winner, Richard Carapaz.
In Dunbar’s absence, Ineos Grenadiers is fielding a very strong team for Vuelta a Burgos, with a line-up that includes Egan Bernal, Pavel Sivakov, Adam Yates, Salvatore Puccio, Daniel Martinez and Rodriguez.
