Morton takes his chance, snatches Tour of Ulster lead from Dowling

Eoin Morton has had the day of his life at the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster today, taking the race leader's pink jersey from Damien Shaw (Team ASEA) following a daring late attack. Morton has been to the fore in Irish cycling for the last number of seasons and has won some great races but today represents a massive achievement for him (Photo: Sean Rowe)

By Brian Canty

Eoin Morton is the new race leader of the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster following today’s 150-kilometre third stage from Newry to Cookstown.

The UCD CC rider was 2nd to the finish line, but that was enough to take the race lead from Damien Shaw (Team ASEA) who held the race leader’s pink jersey after Friday night’s opening prologue.

Yesterday’s road stage was cancelled midway through due to bad weather and dangerous conditions so today’s gruelling leg of the race was the first official road stage of this year’s event.

Morton was 2nd behind stage winner Ed Laverack (Cheshire JLT Condor), with Mark Dowling (DID Electrical Dunboyne) 3rd on the day and now 2nd overall.

That trio had been part of a quartet that broke clear of the day’s decisive 15-man break, Wouter Sybrandy of Velo Café Magasin was the other rider who escaped.

The stage, played out in better conditions than yesterday, certainly didn’t disappoint; with a hyper-aggressive start thinning out the peloton considerably inside 18 kilometres.

That was because there were two brutal climbs early on; a third category ascent after six kilometres and the monstrous category one of Keady Mountain that went on for over three kilometres and reached a height of around 350 metres.

Dowling on his way to 11th place in Friday evening's prologue. He lost 7 seconds to stage winner Damien Shaw and just 1 second to new race leader Eoin Morton (Photo: Toby Watson)

The first KOH of the day at Belleek was won by Saxon Irvine (Subaru Albion) with Sean McKenna (Ireland Development Team) and Ed Laverack (Cheshire JLT Condor) in second and third, respectively.

It was very much a case of cat and mouse to the next KOH and the incessant attacking and counters meant the speed rarely dropped below 44kph.

Graham O’Brien (The Bike Station) was first over the biggest climb of the day with Laverack and Taylor Johnstone (CTC Tomac) behind him. McKenna took fifth here to maintain his interest in it.

The first sprint of the day was won by Martyn Irvine with the aforementioned Carpenter and Laverack next.

There followed more attacking but the first significant move came when Laverack and Martyn Irvine (Irish Development Team) were joined by Saxon Irvine and Dante Carpenter (Cheshire JLT Condor) and later Damien Shaw.

That five became eight when Sean Hahessy (Irish Development Team) as well as Daire Feeley (iTap) and reigning veterans’ road race champion Keith Gater (Waterford Racing team) bridged.

Those eight had to work extremely hard to establish any kind of a gap which initially fluctuated around the 30 seconds mark.

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Ulster has been kind to Morton so far this year. Above, winning the CicliSport GP at the end of March (Photo: Jerry Rafferty)

And though Anthony Walsh (Aquablue) made it nine, they were subsequently reeled in by an unrelenting peloton.

Then came another big move with a whopping 15 riders present, those being Phil Trodden (Scotland Cycling Team), Karl Morgan (Phoenix CC), Mark Dowling (DID Dunboyne), Wouter De Groot (WASP), Wouter Sybrandy (Velo Cafe Magasin), Sean Lacey (Team Aqua Blue), Bryan McCrystal (Team Asea), Robin Kelly (Waterford Racing Club), Ronan McLaughlin (Carn Wheelers) and the aforementioned Gater, Hahessy, Laverack, McKenna, Feeley as well as one other.

They quickly pulled away and the gap reached 45 seconds very quickly, thanks to some good cooperation by those in the move.

Sean Lacey was first over the third climb of the day; the category two ascent of Rehaghy Orange Hall, followed by Laverack and McKenna.

By the 100 kilometre mark the gap reached a minute but on the fourth climb; the category two at Whitebridge, the break started to splinter.

Sybrandy took the maximum points going over that fourth climb followed by Lacey and McKenna.

Sean McKenna has been the man of the season so far, but for once he missed the winning move today. Above, on his way to 25th on Friday evening riding for the Irish Development Team (Photo: Toby Watson)

And on the fifth and final climb they were similarly to the fore, though Mark Dowling was the first over the top.

That final climb was around 45 kilometres from the finish and it was around then that Dowling, Morton, Sybrandy and Laverack went clear of the second group on the road, while a third group also formed further back.

Inside 10 kilometres to go it was still the four leaders, though they were now being chased by 13 following a merging of two groups behind.

And in an incredible final few kilometres the leaders – who worked so well together - began to think of more than just stage honours and it was Morton, courtesy of doing the best prologue of the lot on Friday, who took the jersey.

We’ll have more later.