Irish duo Eddie Dunbar and Sam Bennett fared well at the Tour de Pologne over the weekend, with Bennett prominent in the sprint finish on day one and Dunbar mixing it with the general classification riders on Sunday’s hilltop finish.
Riding for the Jayco-AlUla team, Dunbar raced in as part of an eight man group four seconds behind stage winner Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) and Joâo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). He placed eighth and moved up to fifth overall.
With time bonuses taken into account, he is 14 seconds behind Mohorič, who recently won stage 19 in the Tour de France.
Bennett lacked a leadout from his Bora-hansgrohe team in the final sprint on Saturday, striking out with approximately 200 metres to go but being overhauled by stage winner Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and two others. He will have other opportunities to improve on that fourth place finish in the coming days; the stages on Tuesday and Friday will likely finish in bunch sprints.
Dunbar was one of many riders delayed behind a crash on day one but race officials reviewed the dangerous conditions and gave all the riders the same time as a result. Monday and Wednesday’s stages include enough climbing to shape the general classification, while Thursday’s time trial will also play an important part in determining the final overall standings.
Both riders are hoping to take part in the Vuelta a España, which begins on August 26th. Before then Bennett will contest the world road race championships in Glasgow on August 6th.
