Robert O’Leary, second right, took a massive stage win of the Scott Junior Tour of Ireland on Thursday and today he goes after the yellow jersey in what should be a cracking penultimate stage. (Photo: Stephen McMahon- SPORTSFILE/ Homepage photo thanks to Tommy Heaney)
By Brian Canty
Robert O’Leary took the biggest win of his life on Thursday when he soloed to victory at the end of stage three at the Scott Junior Tour of Ireland in Ennis, Co. Clare.
He’s been the only Irish winner in the race so far this week and starting today’s penultimate road stage he’s just three seconds off the yellow jersey held by Charlie Meredith of Giant Halo.
O’Leary admitted while he was thrilled to get the win he was a little disappointed not to have also taken the yellow jersey as he knows he probably has just one more chance – today, to do so.
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“It was really amazing to win, it’s the biggest win of my life to date,” he told stickybottle last night from the team’s base in Ennis.
“I wasn’t really confident of winning from that break of 12; I knew all the guys were strong.
“We were just going for time in the group and I decided to jump at the end to try win the stage and it worked out.”
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O’Leary attacked two kilometres from the line on a slightly uphill drag and his winning burst took him away from the rest and his momentum carried him all the way to the line.
And it would turn out to be an even better day when his Cork Giant teammate Dillon Corkery– representing Tarrant Skoda Munster was next over the line.
“I knew the finish from last year so I went there on the drag, though I thought they had me caught at the roundabout when I looked back with a few hundred metres to go.
“It was amazing and especially great to win against such a strong field of foreign riders including the US national time-trial champion (Gage Hecht – Hot Tubes 1).
“I was disappointed not to take yellow but I knew it would also be hard to defend it for the remaining stages.
“I’m not feeling too bad, I’m a bit tired but everyone else is.
“We’ll have to have a good plan to shake the yellow jersey because he and his team are very strong; his teammate drilled it for the last 20 kilometres yesterday,” continued the young Corkman.
Today’s stage promises to be an epic with the summit finish at Gallows Hill outside Cratloe in the south of the county likely to be where the race is won and lost.
O’Leary knows if he can win the stage it’s likely he’ll go into yellow – but with 13 riders less than a minute off the jersey it promises to be one heck of a day.
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