Chris Richardson wins Newry Three Day stage 2, takes yellow | Sticky Bottle

Absolute quality: Chris Richardson was strongest on a very hard day in the saddle. He takes stage 2 of the Newry Three Day and also has yellow (Photo: Toby Watson)

Chris Richardson (The Bike House) has won stage 2 of the Newry Three Day and seized the yellow jersey after the race blew to pieces today.

The
stage winner was among a group of 15 riders that went clear very early in the
stage and pulled out a lead close to four minutes.

Behind
the leaders the chase was so intense the racing split to pieces, though a group
of chasers was successful in bridging across to those up front.

As
the 122km stage from Hilltown to Rathfriland neared an end, eventual winner
Richardson went clear of the others in the breakaway in a three-man move.

He was initially with Alan Bingham (Newry Wheelers) and Michael McGlynn (Omagh Wheelers).

Aside from Richardson and Bingham taking 1st and 2nd, Calvin Moore (above) did the ride of the day; going through everyone up the road after bridging a huge gap but failing to catch the two leaders who pressed on relentlessly all the way to the line (Photo: Toby Watson)

Richardson leads Bingham as they head for 1st and 2nd on the stage (Photo: Toby Watson)

However,
Richardson and Bingham would push on coming out of Hilltown as McGlynn lost
contact.

Closer
to the finish Richardson proved the strongest up front, getting away from
Bingham and winning the stage from him by 43 seconds.

Then
came Calvin Moore (Omagh Wheelers) 1:08 off the winner and a man rapidly making
a name for himself, Nathan Keown (North Down CC) at 1:12.

Moore
was not part of the initial large breakaway group and he would put in one of
the rides of the day as he chased it.

He
got out of the bunch in a five-man move, caught the escape and picked off
everyone in his path expect Richardson and Bingham who had already taken flight
up the road.

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And
because Friday night’s opening stage came down to a bunch sprint, won by
British visitor Patrick Fotheringham, today’s stage result and time gaps
dictate the general classification.

Fotheringham
(Halesowen ACC-Wenlock Spring) started today’s stage 2 in yellow but
failed to finish when a mechanical took him out of the race.

With Richardson, Bingham and McGlynn in the early 15-man
breakaway today were: Luke Joyce (Ards CC), Cathal Clarke (Armagh Down CC),
Jonny McRoberts (Banbridge CC), Davy McFall (Caldwell Cycles) and Aaron Watson
(Dromara CC).

Also present were: David Hird (Halesowen ACC-Wenlock Spring), David McIntyre
(Maryland Wheelers), Sean Featherstone (Newry Wheelers), Drew McKinley (Newry
Wheelers), Colm Quinn (Newry Wheelers), Nathan Keown (North Down CC) and
Garrett Fitzgerald (VC Glendale).

By
about the 50 mile mark today when the breakaway had almost four minutes, Calvin
Moore was chasing in a five-man group.

With
him for company was Des Woods (Newry Wheelers), Johnny Taylor (Carn Composite),
Gareth McCullough (Armagh Down) and Paul Wilkinson (West Down Composite).

In
the end some of those in the chase group did fantastic rides; Moore claiming 3^rd
on the stage, McCullough in 6^th and woods in 9^th.

But
there was no doubting the man of the moment; stage winner and new race leader
Richardson.

He
had the smarts to get into the early breakaway, and when it blew apart as the
effort of being out front all day began to take its toll, Richardson won simply
because he was strongest.

For full stage results and classifications after stage 2 please follow this link.