Fintan Ryan takes biggest win as huge gaps open at Tour of Ulster

Fintan Ryan has taken the opening stage of the Tour of Ulster and the first leader’s pink jersey of the 2019 edition.

The 89.5 mile opening stage of the Tour of Ulster in Banbridge was dominated by a 20-man lead group that gained minutes of the rest of the field.

While Conor Hennebry (Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo) spent a prolonged period clear of the breakaway solo, he was caught.

But soon after when five men broke clear of the leading
group, Hennebry was among them.

Also present in that five-man escape was Fintan Ryan
(Cycling Leinster), Matthew Clarke (Foran), Lindsay Watson (Powerhouse Sport) and
James Jobber (Upshift Velo).

And they would survive out front, about 20 seconds ahead
of the chasing 15, to fight it out for stage victory.

Ryan won the stage in a very tight sprint for victory; showing some great road legs and combining his track speed for a big win.

Fintan Ryan got the verdict on the line from Linday Watson (Powerhouse Sport), with James Jobber (Upshift Velo) rounding out the podium on the day.

The other two riders in that five-man group contending for victory were Hennebry and Foran's Matthew Clarke; placing 4th and 5th on the stage.

How Tour of Ulster stage 1 unfolded

In the 20-man breakaway that dominated the stage were: Conor
Hennebry, James Curry, Sean Hahessy (all of Dan Morrissey-MIG.ie-Pactimo), David
Montgomery (Banbridge Composite) and Mark Dowling (Cycling Leinster).

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Also present was Ryan and JB Murphy (both of Cycling
Leinster), Matthew Clarke (Foran), Gareth O'Neill (Newry Wheelers CC), Donal
Shearer (Phoenix CC), Jody Wright (Phoenix CC), Lindsay Watson (Powerhouse
Sport) and Jonathan Bourne (Pro Vision Race Team UK ).

And the group was completed by Liam Curley (Strata 3-VeloRevolution), John Buller (Bioracer-DHL-FR Services), Conor McCann (Bioracer-DHL-FR Services), Darnell Moore (Team Caldwell Cycles), James Jobber (Team Upshift Velo), David Watson (The Bike House CC) and Bram Nelck (Westland Wil Vooruit).

That big front group went clear on the second categorised climb of the day some 15 miles into the stage.

And at the top of that climb they already had 30 seconds;
the nearest they would be to the rest of the field for the remainder of the
stage.

That split pushed the speed up and as the group out front
rode well together, 30 miles were covered in the first hour of racing.

With 31 miles covered and as the front group crested the
third climb of the day, the 20 men had a two minute gap.

Most of the better teams in the race were represented up
front meaning the urgency went out of the chase quite quickly.

And by the 40-mile marker the lead was up to four
minutes. Up front Hennebry attack with about 30 miles to go and spent a long
period solo at the head of the race, building a lead of 55 seconds at one
point.

However, he was caught and went clear again with the other four after the last climb of the day. They then went out to contest the finish with Ryan winning.

Stage 1: Banbridge-Banbridge (89.5miles)                                     

1 Ryan, Fintan Cycling Leinster
2 Watson, Lindsay Powerhouse Sport
3 Jobber, James Team Upshift Velo
4 Hennebry, Conor Dan Morrissey-MIG.ie-Pactimo
5 Clarke, Matthew Foran

Mountains Competition

1 Watson, Lindsay Powerhouse Sport 57
2 Moore, Darnell Caldwell Cycles 41
3 Montgomery, David Unattached 30
4 Shearer, Donal Phoenix CC 20
5 Hennebry, Conor Dan Morr-MIG-Pactimo 15