Eoin Morton on finding friends, and his leg, in his hour of need
Ian Richardson sets the tempo on stage three of the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster today. The UCD-Fitzcycles.ie team had their man Eoin Morton, second wheel, in pink but were forced on the defensive today when his closest challenger went up the road in a very threatening breakaway.
By Brian Canty
Eoin Morton won his first ever stage race today. He claimed overall victory in the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster in Moy, Co Tyrone.
The UCD-Fitzcycles.ie did much of the heavy lifting himself with two massive back-to-back breakaway rides on stages one and two.
But when he needed a hand today he didn’t have to look far.
In a true testament to the An Post Rás stage winner, he had plenty of riders coming up to help with the chase of a threatening break.
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It escaped early on and contained his closest rival Robert-Jon McCarthy (Monaghan).
But first and foremost, Morton had his team to thank for some immense work.
“They were unbelievable, they were absolutely smashing it,” said Morton.
“We had a 130k stage and we were on the front. Five guys in a row for a large portion of it.
“I can’t thank them enough; they did a super, super job. They were savagely strong.
“Cian O’Reilly was unbelievable and Louis Carnec. Conor Murnane was in his first A1 race last week. He’s only 19 and is another kid who came through us.”
Their other rider was Ian Richardson who escaped in the break but dropped out of that to help the chase.
“We had a few digs from a few lads who owed us favours over the years,” said Morton.
“John Lynch, Liam Dolan and David Hamilton. And other people started chipping in when they were trying to defend GC.”
Morton lost the jersey on the final day two years ago when Mark Dowling nabbed him in the final kilometres.
And he sensed Déjà vu again today after 13 kilometres when the break went.
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“I panicked big time when Robert-Jon went. They brought the gap out to 50 seconds super quick and I was like ‘oh shit’.
“But Ian dropped back and we started tipping up and over. There was the five of us riding at the front.
“And there was eight in the break and we held them, taking a little bit of time out.
“I just had to keep the guys as calm as possible; making sure they kept eating and drinking so the energy levels didn’t die.”
At 130 kilometres it was a long day out there and Morton was glad of any help.
“Any time legs started to fade we were getting pushes back up. And there were words of encouragement, not just for me but all of the lads.
“It’s nice to be on a team where we’re really respected in the bunch.
“I think a lot of people respect our riders; all sound and we’re all willing to have a bit of craic.”
If Morton won today it was because of what he did yesterday on stage two; a monstrous two-up time-trial with Robert-Jon McCarthy.
“I felt a million dollars yesterday. A small group formed into the headwind.
“But myself and Dowling and Robert Jon bridged across and we tipped all the way up to Spelga Dam.
“Just before we turned into the tailwind I attacked and Robert Jon came with me.
“He asked was it not too far out but I said ‘it’s a tailwind the whole way so we may as well try’.
“We brought out the time gap really, really quickly. He started sitting on, he rode for maybe 30 of the 100k and sat on for long periods.
“I think he was dying but he was trying to ride when he could and be as honest as possible.
“I punctured and fair play to him for waiting and then we clipped on again.
“I’m not sure if he had the legs to go solo for 20k himself. We both needed each other.
“I actually wanted to give him the stage win but up the last drag I went up it not super hard.
“He didn’t come around me and I’ve been beaten by a second in that race before. So I know how valuable every second is on GC.
“I’d never won a race on GC before so I knew I needed everything. Then there was a 10-second time bonus on the line as well.”
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