Darren Guy of St Tiernan’s CC is tightly marked by yellow jersey Steven Watty at the end of the Omagh Three Day yesterday (Photo with thanks to Stevie McKenna and Omagh Wheelers)
By Brian Canty
Niall Morris (Phoenix CC) won the final stage of the Tour of Omagh yesterday as North Down CC’s Steven Watty held on to the yellow jersey.
Watty took the race lead following the third stage on Saturday afternoon and fended off a number of challenges yesterday to claim a fine win.
Six seconds was his winning margin over Darren Guy of St Tiernan’s, with Lorcan Healy (Unattached) rounding out the final podium a further five seconds back.
Interestingly, none of that trio won a stage but they were to the fore on all stages throughout the weekend.
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Watty had a strong team around him, with Adam Leach and Dan and Neil Brown all doing some superb policing work.
Niall Morris of Phoenix CC takes the final stage yesterday, Sunday, and jumps to 5th overall thanks to his time gain (Photo with thanks to Stevie McKenna and Omagh Wheelers)
It was no surprise to see North Down finishing best team on the day yesterday while Leach also took home the climbers’ jersey.
Leach took that jersey on stage 1 and held it throughout the weekend. And with a tally of 17 points he would eventually win by eight from TT stage 2 winner Chris Birney (Sportactive).
Yesterday was a stage fraught with danger as it featured two testing climbs towards the finish.
Starting the day level on time with Ryan Wallace (Ballymoney CC) and one second up on Gavin Corey (Harps CC), Watty knew he had it all to do.
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He treated the race lead with respect and with the help of his team came to the final climb with the main bunch.
As expected, the fireworks kicked off there and eventually, a five-man group escaped.
Adam Leach of North Down, wearing the climbers' jersey, leads the breakaway towards the finish yesterday (Photo with thanks to Stevie McKenna and Omagh Wheelers)
In there were Watty, Lorcan Healy (Unattached), Niall Morris (Phoenix CC), Darren Guy (St Tiernan’s CC) and teammate Leach.
Healy needed to win the stage by two seconds from Watty to take the jersey. Leach needed six seconds while Guy needed seven so it really came down to the wire.
But it was Morris – who was no threat overall - who claimed the stage from Guy in second with Watty on his wheel followed by Healy and Leach.
The fact Watty managed third gave him a four-second time bonus and further allayed any fears he might have had about losing the jersey.
Stage winner Morris (Phoenix CC) gained 29 positions from his strong ride and finished fifth overall.
The bunch was led in some 41 seconds back by stage 3 winner Jim Eastwood (Harps CC).
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