Latest news with #JaycoAlula
The 42
5 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Cork's Eddie Dunbar forced to abandon debut Tour de France following crash
CORK'S EDDIE DUNBAR has retired injured from his debut Tour de France ahead of the start of Saturday's eighth stage. Dunbar, who produced a superb ride to finish fourth behind compatriot Ben Healy on Thursday, was involved in a crash towards the end of Friday's stage. Advertisement Although he was able to remount his bike and finish the stage, his Jayco Alula team confirmed today that he suffered a wrist injury which rules him out of the remainder of the race. Timpiste ar an Tour do Ben Healy agus Eddie Dunbar 😬 Both Irish riders in an accident on stage 7, back up and riding again buíochas le Dia 🙏 Beo / Live anois ar @TG4TV 📺@RSAIreland @Irisproductions #TDF2025 — Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 11, 2025 'Eddie Dunbar has abandoned the Tour de France and will not start stage 8,' a team medical update read. 'Following a crash in the final kilometres of yesterday's stage, Dunbar has been suffering with pain in his wrist and a decision was taken to stop, for his safety. 'We're going to miss you Eddie, get well soon!' Dunbar's withdrawal leaves Healy — who was also involved in that same crash on Friday — as Ireland's sole remaining representative in the race.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Eddie Dunbar ruled out of the Tour de France with a wrist injury after nasty crash
While both men remounted and finished the stage, lingering wrist pain saw Dunbar go for X-rays afterwards. Although X-rays did not confirm a fracture for Dunbar, his Jayco AlUla team confirmed that he is out of the race. 'Following a crash in the final kilometres of yesterday's stage, Dunbar has been suffering with pain in his wrist and a decision was taken to stop, for his safety,' it said in a media announcement. Dunbar gave his reaction to the crash, as he revealed he had taken steps to avoid being caught up in the incident. 'It was actually pretty sketchy before that,' Dunbar said of the incident this morning. "Obviously I'm not doing GC or anything, but I just went to the back [of the peloton] deliberately because I thought, 'There's going to be something happening here'. 'There were a lot of guys wanting to fight for position. Then, literally a couple of hundred metres later, I found myself on the ground. It looked like there were some guys who touched wheels, some guys locked bars, or something like that.' The 28-year-old Banteer man's bike jackknifed as he tried to hold it upright whilst skidding towards the fallers but he was flipped sideways and rolled across the hot tarmac a few times before coming to a halt with a broken bike, ripped jersey and shorts. 'I saw the crash happen, but I think we were doing 70kph or something at the time,' he recalled. 'I actually thought I managed to hold it upright, but I just went the wrong side of the bike, obviously came off and came down pretty hard. 'When I got off the ground and saw the guys that came down, there were a couple of bikes that were in pieces as well. I needed a brand new bike because the other one was smashed to bits. "You just wonder sometimes how a lot of us are lucky enough to get up and walk away from something like that, because you tell anyone to jump out of a car at 70kph, with no protection, not many people would do it I don't think. It's pretty crazy and I just hope everyone is okay.' ADVERTISEMENT Although he turned up to this morning's start ready to race, with his left arm strapped after X-rays proved inconclusive last night, his Jayco Alula team took the decision to pull Dunbar from the race today before the flag dropped, saying that 'Eddie has been suffering with pain in his wrist and a decision was taken to stop, for his safety.' Dunbar had taken fourth behind Healy on stage six and looked to be in the form of his life for his debut Tour de France, so he was understandably disappointed by his withdrawal. 'It's difficult, like when you come down like that, it just takes a lot out of you both mentally and physically,' he added. "I'm in really good condition. I came here with high ambitions, obviously to help Ben [O'Connor] as much as possible and maybe get an opportunity to go for a stage. It's the best I've been feeling on the bike. I've prepared really well. It's funny how quickly it gets taken away.'
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie cycling star, 34, forced to put career on hold just a month before the Tour de France because of life-threatening health issue
Aussie cycling superstar Michael Matthews has been forced to drop out of this year's Tour de France and has put his career on hold after team doctors discovered he had 'signs of a pulmonary embolism'. The discovery was made after the Jayco Alula cyclist, aged 34, was attending an altitude training camp. On learning of the issue, Jayco Alula's medical team opted to 'pause all physical activity for the rider until further notice, as a precautionary measure.' The Aussie sprinter, who hails from Canberra, was due to appear at the Tour de France, which begins on July 5, for the ninth time in his career. During his esteemed career, Matthews has won four individual stages on the Tour, having also claimed the Points Classification in 2017. In a statement issued on Sunday, Jayco Allula confirmed that his 'health condition is stable.' 'The Medical Team are now thoroughly investigating the extent of the issue and possible cause, to define a safe and optimal recovery process for the athlete,' a spokesperson wrote. 'During this period of investigation, as a safeguarding measure, Matthews will refrain from competition to ensure there is no risk to his health and well-being, therefore ruling out his participation in the upcoming Tour de France.' Matthews had enjoyed a fine start to 2025, winning the Eschborn-Frankfurt UCI World Tour race, while placing fourth in the Milan-San Remo race and fifth in the Amstel Gold Race. Matthews, meanwhile, thanked his friends, family and followers for showing him support on Sunday. 'Thank you everyone for the kind messages, I will get around to replying to you all, just taking a few days to process the news but my condition is OK and I will make a full recovery, it will just take some time. Thank you all,' he wrote on his Instagram. A pulmonary embolism is a serious condition where a blood clot blocks a vessel in a person's lungs. According to the NHS, a pulmonary embolism can in some cases be life-threatening if not treated quickly. Individuals can experience difficulty breathing, chest pain or even coughing up blood as a result of the condition.
News.com.au
18-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Celebrate the good old Aussie way': Luke Plapp claims emotional Giro d'Italia stage win after epic solo escape
An emotional Luke Plapp celebrated 'the good old Aussie way' with a couple of glasses of vino after his heroic solo win on Stage 8 of the gruelling three-week Giro d'Italia. Plapp won his first Grand Tour stage in spectacular fashion, attacking his three breakaway companions 700m from the top of the Montelago climb, and a remarkable 45km from the finish of the hilly stage. The three-time Australian time trial champion finished 38 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman and Diego Ulissi, to become the second Aussie stage winner at this year's Giro after Kaden Groves' wild sprint win last week. The 24-year-old Jayco Alula rider put his hands on his helmet in disbelief as he crossed the line first in his third Grand Tour. The emotional Melburnian said he had been struggling since his sixth place finish in January's Tour Down Under in Adelaide, where he rode with a wrist injury. 'There's been a lot of lows,' he said after crossing the finish line. 'Whether it's at the Olympics, or at the Tour Down Under, and having surgery on my wrist. 'There's been a lot of lows, and not many highs in between. 'There's been no confidence. 'At the Tour Down Under I was feeling really amazing and was confident for that race, trying to win the overall. 'Since then there hasn't been much confidence at all. 'Even today, I was feeling good, but I was almost getting dropped at stages before the break went there. 'To come good and make it is so, so special.' Plapp dedicated the win to his mate, fellow Aussie cyclist Jai Hindley, who was concussed and suffered a fractured vertebrae in a horror crash on Stage 6. 'You see with Jai, who's a close friend, who's trained so much this year and spent so much time at altitude, just for it all to be taken away in the click of a finger,' he said. 'Cycling's such a crazy sport, you've gotta make the most of the highs when you can, because in a click of the fingers it can be taken away.' Plapp's attention now turns to protecting team leader Chris Harper, before a rest day and a 28.6km time trial to start week two. But first, a true Aussie celebration of his stage win. 'There's a big stage tomorrow to look after Harper but I know me and my roommate Michael Hepburn are going to have a few wines tonight,' he said, showing off the magnum bottle of sparkling he received on the podium. 'I'll take this bottle of vino back and we'll enjoy it the good old Aussie way.'
ABC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Plapp rides solo to Giro d'Italia stage eight win as Ulissi takes overall lead
Australia's Luke Plapp has won stage eight of the Giro d'Italia with a formidable solo effort on the 197 kilometre ride from Giulianova to Castelraimondo. After nearly 20 riders formed a breakaway group with 100km to go, Jayco Alula's Plapp attacked the Montelago climb. He did not look back as he rode to victory by a handsome margin to claim his first Grand Tour stage win. Plapp was so far ahead that there was no chaser in sight. But the 24-year-old still looked cautiously over his shoulder on the final stretch to the finish, placing his hands on head in disbelief as he crossed the line. "It's pretty crazy, I still can't believe it, to be honest. I feel like it's been a long time coming," Plapp said. "Last year I got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special." Wilco Kelderman of Visma-Lease a Bike finished second, while XDS-Astana's Diego Ulissi came in third, with both riders finishing 38 seconds behind Plapp. Ulissi became the first Italian in four years to take the overall leader's pink jersey, ending an 86-stage drought. He replaced Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at the top of the general classification. Ulissi leads his teammate Lorenzo Fortunato by 12 seconds, while Roglič is 17 seconds behind. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro) is the best-placed Australian in the general classification, sitting 50 seconds behind Ulissi in eighth position. Earlier, Plapp had attacked with 45km to go in the stage, kicking into a high gear to leave the field behind and riding solo to the top on the Montelago climb. Plapp stayed in the lead after taking maximum points in the fight for the blue jersey and he had a minute's lead on the chasers while the peloton was more than six minutes behind with about 20km remaining. He showed no signs of slowing down as he also conquered the Gagliole climb and remained over five minutes ahead of the peloton on the descent. "I knew I couldn't beat any of them in a sprint, so I knew I had to go at some stage pretty early," Plapp said. "I think the way the racing's been going this year, the long moves have been really, really successful. "The first one to make a move, I think, always has an advantage. I just thought I'd give it a crack and to be honest, I just wanted a bit of a head start on the descent as well." Reuters
