As the main breakaway of the day disintegrated on the third stage in the Tour of Utah, the 21 year-old Lachlan Morton (Garmin-Sharp) wheeled away from the field, bridged up to the leftovers of the break and just kept on going.

“When we hit the bottom of the climb Ryder [Hesjedal] hit it really hard, making it tough for everyone and then when it started to slow I just went,” Morton explained on the Garmin-Sharp website.

Riding up a tough Mt. Nebo, Morton established a nearly two minutes-lead over the dwindling peloton.

On the back side of the mountain, Morton displayed his descending skills and sustained a lead on the chasers.

“I was glad when we got to the technical stuff because the top was too open and had headwinds. There were a few turns that came back a bit and the surface was a bit dodgy.”

According to Morton, the ride into the finish city was the trickiest part.

“The last five kilometres were incredibly tough but I just kept throttling it. I just had my head set on the finish line. I was losing time on the flat because it was windy. I didn’t really look back until 500 to go.”

Winning the stage means that Morton will wear the Best Young Rider tunic during Friday’s stage.