Conor Hennebry has ridden superbly so far in the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster and deservedly holds the race leader's pink jersey. The Aquablue man knows there is still a long way to go with a hard stage tomorrow and the top of the general classification so tightly congested (Photo: David McVeigh - TheBelgianProject)
By Brian Canty
Conor Hennebry is having a dream debut in the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster after taking the race lead this afternoon.
The 23-year old Waterford man - who won in Wexford this day last year - was second on the stage to Ian Richardson (UCD CC-Fitzcycles.ie) and currently leads overall from his teammate Sean Lacey by eight seconds.
Mark Dowling (ASEA-Wheelworx) is 12 seconds down and Christopher McGlinchey (Ballymoney CC/Biesty’s Centra) a further four back.
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So it goes without saying it is still all to play for.
Hennebry wears the green jersey third in line in the escape climbing Spelga Dam. The up and coming James Curry leads from Sean Lacey, Hennebry, Bryan McCrystal and Paul Watson (Photo: Stephen McMahon)
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“I’m delighted but it’s not in the bag yet, not by a long way. We’ve a tough day tomorrow," said Hennebry.
“Others are only 10-12 seconds back and Dowling and McGlinchey are very strong this weekend; they have to be watched because they can take back 10 seconds no problem.
“Of course it’s a good feeling to be in pink, I’ve never raced here before so it’s a great achievement and I’m happy to wear it going into the last day tomorrow.”
Today, Hennebry was active throughout and was in the day’s main move.
But the large front group he was in lost its momentum with around 20 kilometres to go when the attacking started.
“There were a lot of strong riders in the group.
“Sean McKenna was there and he went to the front and kept the pace high; most people in that group were attacking so it was a case of following them and not losing ground.”
Though he was so close to the jersey after yesterday, he said thoughts of leading outright never once entered his mind.
“I said I’d do my best sprint up the hill to the finish and I’d worry about it after. I never thought of pink.”
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