Eddie Dunbar has agreed a two-year contract with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, linking up with the Swiss outfit for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The Irish rider from Banteer, County Cork arrives with a clear Grand Tour baseline, 7th at the 2023 Giro d’Italia, 11th at the 2024 Vuelta with two stage wins, plus the steady time trial and short-climb punch that suits one-week races and selective one-day terrain. Reuniting with Kurt Bogaerts and riding alongside Tom Pidcock, he brings experience and immediate utility for 2026.
Q36.5 have been trending upwards, racing assertively and building depth across stage races. Dunbar adds a rider who can chase GC in week-long events, switch to stage-hunting when the route demands, and harden a race for a leader when needed. His ability to absorb workload over three weeks, then sharpen late, gives Q36.5 options beyond a single protected card on hilly stage race profiles.
Grand Tour baseline and upside
The Giro top 10 and Vuelta stage wins point to a rider who improves as attrition bites. His time trial is solid enough to limit losses on flatter courses, and the short, steep efforts that now define many finales remain a sweet spot. The realistic brief in 2026 is selective GC contention in one-week races, support on marquee days, and licence to attack when the terrain tilts in his favour.
Pro wins to date – and what they tell us
Set aside his U23 and 2.2-era successes, and Dunbar’s professional tally sits at five. The headline markers came at the 2024 Vuelta a España, where he won stages 11 and 20, two very different days that showcased both opportunism and late-race resilience. Between those bookends, he underlined his solo engine by taking the Irish time trial title, a result that matters because it converts to real seconds saved in stage races. Roll back to 2022 and you find the foundations: overall victories at Coppi e Bartali and the Tour de Hongrie. Those week-long GCs are important context – they prove he can string together consistent performances across varied terrain, manage risk, and still find a winning move when the opportunity appears. In combination, the Vuelta stages, national ITT, and two stage-race overalls sketch a rider who wins in multiple ways, not just from a single party piece.
Dunbar’s view
“The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is obviously a team on the up, which is a good sign. They are really competitive in races, take it on even if they don’t win, and create a good racing atmosphere riding as one.
“When Kurt Bogaerts, who I know well from my time at Ineos, joined, my interest was sparked even more. I know how he works. I also spoke to Doug Ryder on how the team is going and what they expect. In Tom, they have a clear leader, which is always good for any team, so it seems like a good moment now to join with my knowledge and experience.”
“Grand Tours suit me well because I always get better towards the end. I absorb the workload of a three-week race well. There have been glimpses of what I can do, but due to crashes and illness, I haven’t reached my full potential there yet. That’s something for the next two years. The team has already done some big races, and I hope I will play my part in the future ones. Winning a race is never easy, but when there is an opportunity, I am ready to take my chance.”
Photo Credit: GettyBogaerts on the signing
“Eddie is a very interesting rider I know well. He can climb, time-trial and is punchy by nature. He has already shown great things in smaller stage races but also won two stages in the Vuelta and has ridden in support of team leaders often too. He is versatile and quite adapt to hard races. I am happy he will be with us,” Bogaerts stated.
Dunbar’s arrival gives Q36.5 a proven engine for hilly blocks and a rider capable of changing the shape of a stage when the race is on. With two seasons to work, the team has time to build a programme that plays to his strengths while adding depth around its established leaders.
