Irish riders Conor Dunne and Nicolas Roche were both prominent on Thursday's third stage of the Dubai Tour, driving the pace when the peloton split in crosswinds en route to the finish in Fujairah. Dunne was particularly active, spending large amounts of time at the front of the bunch and turning the screw on the riders who had been caught out behind.
Although the bunch eventually came back together, thus paving the way for Mark Cavendish’s sprint victory, Dunne and Roche will be satisfied with their progress in building form for later in the season.
"I feel pretty good, actually. I feel strong," Dunne told the Irish Times after the stage. "I trained hard this winter, so I am feeling good, actually, getting involved in the crosswinds. I have a lot more confidence in myself after last year. I am not really scared of the big names any more. Especially on that terrain, I feel like I can hold my own."
Dunne and Matt Brammeier are with the Irish Aqua Blue Sport team, which is also riding prominently. It has been on the attack this week in the race, and British rider Adam Blythe was a fine fourth on Thursday's stage. Dunne's role in the event is primarily to help Blythe, but he knows that building form now will bode well for the upcoming races.
Asked if he is going better than this time last year, he said that it was difficult to be sure. “But I feel strong. I think after riding the Vuelta a Espana, in the winter, I was just training that bit harder. It all felt a bit easier. So I am hoping to carry that through now and kick on. To use this race for a bit of form.
“I am just going to ride aggressively in these first months of the season. I have got a few personal goals in my own head for the whole year. Not really anything kind of specific in the next while…I just want to be strong here and then in Belgium. It is just a bit of chaos [racing in Belgium], so the aim is to go there with good legs and come out of it well, hopefully.”
Dunne eventually finished 77th on the stage, expending his energy to help the team. Roche was 25th, and sits 19th overall, 14 seconds behind the race leader Elia Viviani (QuickStep Floors). The race continues on Friday with the uphill finish at Hatta Dam. On paper it might suit Roche's explosive style, although he said it is perhaps coming too early in the season for him.
He is riding his first race and is still building form. He said: “I think the team wants me to give it a go because even if I don’t get a result here, it is always useful to try,” he said. “The whole purpose of being here is to try and go deep.
“Realistically that finish is the only chance to go deep in this week, then I will go to the Tour of Oman where I will just continue the workload.”
