Dogged Determination: Dunbar Overcoming More than a Decade of Brutal Bad Luck

Eddie Dunbar is small and slight, but he’s one of the toughest characters in the peloton.

The Irishman has been through knockbacks and setbacks that would have ended the careers of many riders but, time and time again, he’s dusted himself off, got back on his feet and returned to the bike.

Sometimes it took days. Sometimes it took weeks. This year it took four months to return to racing but, drawing on resilience and dogged determination, he clawed his way back to the top again.

His victory on stage 19 of the Vuelta a España was a masterclass, with the Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider attacking soon after the start, going solo with 110km to go when the peloton was closing down the break, and then dragging his way back up to Santiago Buitrago when the Colombian attacked with 13km to go and again with 2km remaining.

That’s why his win was feted by TV commentators, and was appreciated by fellow pros and fans alike.

Sport loves a plucky underdog. Considering all that Dunbar has been through, he’s the epitome of that.

Friday was a win that took him by surprise.

“This year I had three months out where I didn’t ride a bike at all after a bad accident,” he said in the post-race interview. “I really didn’t think that I would be here and even competing for stages, let alone just be here. I can’t believe it. I can’t.”

2025 is just a small example of the misfortune Dunbar has faced.

In March he was riding Paris-Nice and crashed during stage two. He finished the stage and the subsequent team time trial but was a DNS the next morning, returning to his base in Monaco.

The following day he was out on city bikes with his partner Niamh and was hit side on by a motorcyclist, fracturing his ankle and spending two months in a boot.

He was out of racing for almost four full months, leading to him starting the Vuelta with ground to make up.

“I’ll probably suffer a lot in the first week,” he told RTE prior to the start. “But hopefully by the second or third week I can build up a bit of condition that I can be competitive and try to win a stage. That would be the main goal.”

‘I always find myself in the wrong place’

Dunbar is mild mannered but really, really hardy. He’s despaired at his misfortune before but, sooner or later, he’s back in action and battling once again.

Just consider the list of injuries he has suffered, and what he has come back from.

• In May 2015 he fractured his left collarbone on stage 1 of the Tour de Yorkshire
• In April 2016 he crashed during training and fractured his right collarbone.
• In June 2017 he fell during the Baby Giro and was affected by severe concussion for months afterwards.
• In February 2019 he crashed out of stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve, suffering a shoulder injury and hitting his head.
• In September 2020 he fell in Tirreno-Adriatico, fracturing his collarbone.
• In March 21 he was a DNF in Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali with shoulder issues from a crash.
• In October 2021 he was in a key breakaway move at the Irish national championships but crashed on a wet corner and was a non-finisher.
• In February 2023 he hit the deck on stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and fractured his hand.
• In August 2023 he slid out during the washed-out Vuelta a España team time trial in Barcelona and then crashed again on stage 5, leaving the race.
• In February 2024 he was run into from behind on stage 1 of the UAE Tour and suffered a badly bruised bone in his hand.
• In May 2024 he suffered a crash in the Giro d’Italia and was a DNS the following day due to a knee problem
• In March 2025 he fell on stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico, causing concussion and whiplash
• In July 2025 he was caught up in a crash in the Tour de France and was a non-starter the following day
• In March 2026 he fell in Paris-Nice and fractured a rib
• Two days later he was hit by a moped in Monaco, being left with a fractured ankle

It’s possible we’ve missed an injury or two over the years, but you get the picture.

He’s been through a heck of a lot.

And, yes, quite a few of those crashes were not his fault.

“I always find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Dunbar told Velo in early 2022. “And I think anyone that knows me well knows I’ll always put up my hand if it’s my fault. I’m a very honest person that way. If I do something wrong, or if I feel something was my fault, I will put up my hand and I’ll admit that. But the majority of the crashes have been bad luck…

“When you’re doing 50, 60k an hour downhill or on the flat and ten guys crash in front of you, you can’t go anywhere. You don’t have the reaction time to do it. That way I look at it because I never had an issue with bike handling growing up. Descending was never an issue when I was a junior.”

‘It’s not physically, it’s more so mentally’

Given the amount of setbacks he has had, few would blame him if he had walked away from the sport. He’s considered it at times, and so still being here, winning in the sport’s biggest races says something about his fortitude.

He previously described to Velo how he handles the aftermath of a crash.

“When it initially happens, it is hard for a day or two,” he explained. “It sounds probably really stupid, but one thing I’ve learned is that I’m so used to having a setback now that I know how to do it. I think that is a great thing to have. When something does go wrong, when there is a mishap somewhere, I actually know the process now because it’s happened to me so much. I know how to come back as best as I can.

“But certainly, at the time, it’s hard. With crashes…it’s not physically it affects me, it’s more so mentally. It’s a very hard sport and it feels like it gets harder every year. The mental effect [of crashes] is what I’d be more worried about. I’m never too concerned about the physical side of it, which does hurt too. But certainly, the mental pain is sometimes a lot worse than the physical pain.”

You can imagine his frustration back in March when, days after suffering a fractured rib in Paris-Nice, he was struck by that motorbike when out and about with his partner.

That must have felt like a huge blow, an almost farcical twist. But he’s back, he’s here and he’s winning again.

What’s more, he did what he did Friday despite tough personal circumstances.

“I don’t want to make it sad but my girlfriend, her grandmother passed away two days ago,” he told TNT Sports. “She was supposed to be here, but she is actually back in Ireland now with her family. I was actually thinking of them today and that really spurred me on at the finish.

“They are the kind of things you think about. They are the sacrifices you make and you can’t be there sometimes for the people that you need to be there for, because you are here doing your job. But they were on my mind today and I hope I gave them something to smile about.”

He surely did, and did for plenty of others too.

‘I said today wasn’t my day’

Dunbar’s success correlated perfectly with those pre-race aspirations of riding into form and landing a big win.

He previously grabbed Vuelta stage victories at the 2024 race, launching an impeccably-judged surge from the break on stage 11, and then winning at the summit of Picón Blanco on stage 20.

This time around, he started the stage with determination but then began having doubts.

“It’s incredible. I really didn’t expect this today. I even said in the team radio after about 50 or 60 k that today wasn’t my day, I wasn’t feeling good,” he said. “But then I ended up the break and my legs came around a bit.”

That’s an understatement. He was one of the most aggressive riders on the stage, and was flying in the finale.

Given all he has been through, it’s little wonder TNT Sport commentator and former pro Adam Blythe was so impressed by his character.

“He’s just great champion and the ultimate professional,” he said. “We’ve looked past what these riders do, day in day out. Winning a bike race is one thing but going through all that and then getting to this point is massive.”

It is, particularly after 15 or more crashes.

Speaking to Velo in February 2024, Dunbar talked about the frustration of waiting for a run of misfortune to change.

“I’ve been waiting a few years now for it. Obviously last year it kind of started to change at the Giro. It’s trying to get a run to get to 100%, I still don’t know what that feels like.”

That was a fear; not being able to get his 100 percent out.

“If these [crashes] keep happening, does that potential get lower?” he said. “All this shit starts running through your head. Setbacks are part of sport, but when they accumulate like this, it’s difficult to take sometimes.”

It is, but his victory on Friday showed just what can be achieved through stubbornness, perseverance and loads of hard work.