2002 Tour Of Fermanagh Stage 3 - Decisive Splits
TOF Stage 3 on Saturday 17th August 2002
The longest stage in the Tour of Fermanagh starts in Enniskillen and takesin Blaney, the forest drive, Glenasheever, Belleek and back to Enniskillen covering a total of 47 miles. Traditionally this stage separates the sheep from the goats as the long climbs take their toll on tiring legs.
A lentless pace gave no comfort to those suffering at the back and a trail of riders marked the long road from the forest drive to the top of Glenasheever. The 2 King of the Hill primes were contested by Damien Donohoe and David Dunlop with the spoils being divided one each. However the Polka dot jerseybelonged to Donohoe as his win on the Category 1 King of the Hill gained him extra points.
The Underage race also finished at the top of the climb with Fintona's Richard Jones and Patrick Withers taking 1st & 2nd. The Senior race flew on and Boylan was trying frantically to defend his yellow jersey as Newry and Banbridge clubs sent man after man on attacks to break down the Lakeland man.
A crash left Eddie Carson and Vincie McCarron sliding along the tarmac at 25 mph. Both, however, continued but McCarron wrote off a very expensive frame. Wesley Foster worked faithfully for his team-mate Boylan closing down attack after attack but eventually 5 miles from the finish, Lakeland's Kenny Dunlop and Michael Clarke from Bann Valley stole a decisive break. Boylan's closest rival Evans also got away as a tiring Boylan let his grasp slip on the yellow jersey.
The stage was won by Clarke with Cahill McGreavy taking 3rd. Evans came in 7th, 43 seconds later but more importantly for him, 24 seconds ahead of Boylan. This meant he had regained the yellow jersey. A bunch containing 34 riders finished with David Dunlop, Foster, Jones, all in equal 8th place.
Today's stage was sponsored by 'BANK OF IRELAND'.
Results of Bank of Ireland Stage 3 1 M. Clarke 1:56:45 2 K. Dunlop 1:56:46 3 C. McCreavy 1:56:47 4 P. Nugent 1:57:25 5 D. McKenna 1:57:26 6 H. Lynn 1:57:27 7 D. Evans 1:57:28 36 K. Boylan 1:57:52
Results
| Pos | Cyclist | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Clarke | Bann Valley RC | |
| 2 | Kenny Dunlop | LCC | |
| 3 | Cahill McGreavy | Unattached | |
| 4 | Paul Nugent | Bann Valley RC | |
| 5 | Declan McKenna | Emyvale CC | |
| 6 | Henry Lynn | Bann Valley RC | |
| 7 | Derek Evans | Banbridge | |
| 8 | Kenny Boylan | LCC | |
| ? | Michael Holland | N.Monaghan/Crannog Ireland | |
| ? | Vincent McCarron | Omagh Wheelers | |
| ? | Richard Jones | Fintona CC | |
| ? | David Dunlop | LCC | |
| ? | Patrick Withers | Fintona CC | |
| ? | Damien Donohoe | Unattached | |
| ? | Peter Jones | LCC | |
| ? | Michael Gallen | Omagh Wheelers | |
| ? | Wesley Foster | LCC |