Declan Mulholland winning the final stage of the Tour of the North from the impressive Glenn Kinning. Mulholland took two of the five stages; impressive for a man who only turned 19 years on Saturday and who has been plagued by injuries and illness all winter (Picture: David McVeigh The Belgian Project)
By Brian Canty
Declan Mulholland had a weekend he’s unlikely to forget; winning two stages at the Tour of the North, finishing fourth overall and third in the king of the mountains classification.
The 19-year-old Armagh man, riding for ASEA-Wheelworx, also won the young riders' classification.
It’s all the more impressive given how little training he has done, due mainly to a litany of troublesome injuries and illnesses.
The latest of those was a small tear in the lining of his stomach which left him constantly tired and run-down.
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Mulholland, second, showed a lot of grit this weekend. And while he has always been a great sprinter, his impact over the five stages of the Tour of the North went far beyond his fast finish (Photo: Jim Halferty)
“To be able to say I won two stages and take the young riders’ white jersey as a first year U23 is an amazing feeling,” he said.
“A lot of great riders have come through this race and it’s a weekend I’ll always remember.
“The weekend was a great experience, not just with my results but the race itself was run perfectly.
“Everything from the organisation of marshals and police escorts to the routes of the stages; it was a top-class event.”
On Friday Mulholland was one of the few strongmen to lap the field in the opening stage around Kirkistown racing circuit.
He would eventually take 3rd, setting himself up nicely for the remainder of the race.
Yellow jersey Clemens leads the group in pursuit of those ahead in the final of stage 5. Eventual winner Mulholland sits - sixth in line with bright yellow helmet - ready to pounce (Photo: Toby Watson)
On Saturday he forged clear in a breakaway as the front of the race split to pieces after having suffered and early mechanical and missed the initial escape.
And when the cream rose to the top in the final, Mulholland was in the lead group with race leader Ed Clemens and his Spirit Bikes team mate Jake Hales as well as the impressive Glenn Kinning of Kinning Cycles.
Mulholland beat them up the ramp to the finish in Portaferry to take a great stage win.
The Sunday morning TT saw him take his weakest placing of the weekend; 15th in the 8.4km test on Mountain Road.
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However, he only lost 38 seconds to stage winner and race leader Clemens but he beat those ahead of him overall and jumped to 2nd place on the general standings.
On his way to 3rd place on the opening stage of the race on Friday evening (Photo: Toby Watson)
On the Sunday afternoon stage he was 12th into Donaghadee, finishing 15 seconds behind a chase group.
That group came home 1:50 behind the impressive stage winner Peter Anderson of East Kilbride.
That left Mulholland 4th overall, with Hales and last year’s race winner Dave Watson (North Pole CC) both finishing ahead of him and leapfrogging him overall.
And on Monday’s concluding leg he was rampant again; sprinting in to win at the head of a 24-man select group for his second stage win at the end of 126km on the Bangor circuit stage.
He beat another one of the key men of the race Kinning; the cyclocross ace coming home in 2nd on the stage, finishing 8th overall and taking the climbers’ classification.
Storming home to win Saturday's stage after getting the better of team mates Hales and Clemens who were with him coming in the road (Photo: David McVeigh - The Belgian Project)
Mulholland is an apprentice carpenter in his final year so for now, that takes first priority.
But he’s keen to improve and take the sport as seriously as he can, given the time he can commit.
“My confidence going into this season was not high at all,” he admitted.
“I had a poor winter with different injuries and illnesses so I wasn't training much until around the start of March.
“I only had 3 to 4 weeks of training going into this weekend so it gives me confidence that I can do well with more training.
“As regards plans; I’ve nothing set in stone yet because my winter was such a write-off, but we’ll see.
“I had a lot of luck this weekend and a lot of help from my teammates too.
"I definitely wouldn't have done anywhere near as well as I did without the help of Mark (Reilly), Chris (Reilly) and Fraser (Duncan).
“They made sure none of my competitors moved anywhere without me, they fed me and kept me well up the bunch at all times and most importantly, they helped keep me calm.
“The pressure of wearing a jersey is made so much easier when you have a group of dedicated lads to help you.”
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