Eddie Dunbar forced to miss Spanish stage race through illness

Irish rider Eddie Dunbar has been forced to cancel his scheduled participation in the Itzulia Basque Country stage race, which begins on Monday.

The Corkman took his first professional victory on March 26th when he won the overall classification in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and was aiming to ride strongly in the Spanish stage race this week. However, he picked up a chest cold in recent days and his Ineos Grenadiers team has decided to rest him. It is not yet clear what his next event will be.

Rory Townsend had a strong showing in the 1.1-ranked Volta Limburg Classic in the Netherlands on Saturday. He was 12th, finishing as part of a large group sprinting for seventh place, one minute and one second after the solo winner Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal).

Meanwhile, young Irish talent Darren Rafferty (Axeon Hagens Berman) had a solid showing in the three-day Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux stage race in Belgium, finishing 13th overall. He was 18th on the opening day, 36th on stage two, 16th on the stage 3a time-trial and a fine eighth on stage 3b. He ended the race two minutes and 18 seconds behind the overall winner Enzo Paleni (Equipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ).

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At home, Daire Feely (EvoPro Racing) won the Drumm Cup in Currow on Sunday, while Darragh McCarter (Spellman Dublin Port) was best in the Castlebar GP. Darnell Moore (Caldwell Cycles) soloed to victory in Saturday's Simon Brien Residential Tour of Ards in Newtownards.