Eddie Dunbar timed his break to perfection in the last kilometre to win stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana in Padron.
The Irish rider, who finished seventh in last year’s Giro d’Italia, held off the field to win comfortably and take his first Grand Tour stage victory.
Quinten Hermans was second with British rider Max Poole taking third at the end of the 166.5km stage.
Australian Ben O’Connor remains at the head of the general standings but lost 37 seconds of his lead over Primoz Roglic.
Dunbar said: “It’s incredible. Since the Vuelta last year, I think I’ve had seven or eight crashes. Of course, physically it takes its toll, but mentally it took its toll on me too.
“I said numerous times in my head that I might not have a future in the sport because of the crashes and injuries that I’ve had.
“This year, after the Giro, when I injured my ACL, I thought that would be the nail in the coffin for my cycling career. But I have incredible support around me – my girlfriend is always there for me, and I have an incredible group of family and friends, and the team backed me so much.
“It’s been a long time coming but to repay them all today means a lot.”
Stage 11 results
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Eddie Dunbar (Irl/Team Jayco Alula) 3hrs 44mins 52secs
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Quinten Hermans (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +2secs
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Max Poole (GB/Team DSM-Firmenich Postnl) Same time
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Jhonathan Prado (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) +4secs
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Urko Fernandez (Spa/Equipo Kern Pharma) Same time
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Filippo Zana (Ita/Team Jayco Alula) Same time
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Ion Izagirre (Spa/Cofidis) Same time
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Carlos Verona (Spa/Lidl-Trek) Same time
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Gianmarco Garofoli (Ita/Astana) Same time
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Brandon McNulty (USA/UAE Team Emirates) Same time
General classification after stage 11
1. Ben O’Connor (Aus/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) 43hrs 54mins 54secs
2. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) +3mins 16secs
3. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +3mins 58secs
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +4mins 10secs
5. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal Quick-Step) +4mins 40secs
6. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 23secs
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull Bora-hansgrohe) +5mins 29secs
8. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +5mins 30secs
9. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) Same time
10. George Bennett (Aus/Premier Tech) +5mins 46secs
Source Agencies
