"It’s great to see him back at the level he should be” - Team Jayco AlUla boss delighted by Eddie Dunbar-led successful Vuelta a Espana 2024

For Team Jayco AlUla, there was no questioning who the star of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana was. With two stage wins and an 11th placed finish overall, Eddie Dunbar made a big impact at the Spanish Grand Tour.

“I’m still feeling really good, I said jokingly that it’s a shame that the race isn’t a week longer!" The Irishman exclaims in a post-Vuelta recap for his team's official website. "But I’m really happy, the team rode really well for the full three weeks, the first week was a bit difficult with a few guys being sick and having to leave the race, but I think we came out of it strong in the second and third weeks."

Dunbar was also keen to stress however, that it wasn't just himself that were impressive over the last three weeks in Spain. "For me to get a stage win and then Mauro Schmid and Filippo Zana to get three second places between them I think it shows that the way the whole team rode over the three weeks has been really impressive," he explains. "It was special to get the hands up again on stage 20 to finish off a successful three weeks for the team.”

“The Vuelta didn’t start so great for us, but after the first week the guys started to feel better and better. We had some problems with illness, but in the end we can say it’s a successful Vuelta for us," adds Team Jayco AlUla sports director, Rafa Valls. "We have two victories and we were fighting for many stage win, almost every day, plus Eddie was not far off the top-10 overall in the end, so we can be very happy with that.”

“It’s definitely been a successful three weeks, we had some concerns in the first week with the heat and some illness in the team, so we didn’t have fortune on our side the whole time, but this group managed to turn it around with Eddie’s first win and then two second places with Schmid and Zana. That really got the morale going and it switched the switch to get things moving in the right direction," assesses team manager Brent Copeland in conclusion. "The cherry on top was the win on the Queen Stage and Eddie’s ride, which was tremendously satisfying because of what he’s been through and how hard he’s worked after the misfortune he had at the Giro, it’s great to see him back at the level he should be.”