Seán Kelly (cyclist)

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Seán Kelly


image_caption = Kelly with Jean de Gribaldy, 1986
fullname = Seán James Kelly
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1956|5|21
country = IRL
currentteam = Retired
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = Started as a sprinter
Became an all-rounder
amateuryears =
amateurteams =
proyears = 1977–1978
1979–1981
1982–1983
1984–1985
1986–1988
1989–1991
1992–1993
1994
proteams = Flandria
Splendor
Sem-France Loire
Skil-Sem
KAS
PDM-Concorde-Ultima
Festina-Lotus
Catavana
majorwins = , 3 times
updated = 13 January 2008

Seán James Kelly (born 21 May 1956) is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. Kelly was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest Classics riders of all time. His victories include a Grand Tour win, nine “Monument” Classics victories and a record seven successive wins in the Paris-Nice stage race.

Career highlights

Kelly grew up in the townland of Curraghduff, County Waterford on the Tipperary border near Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. [ cite web|url=http://www.upthedeise.org/nucleus/articles.php?itemid=120|title=Sean Kelly - Waterford's Greatest Sports Star!|publisher=Up the Deise] From the start of his professional career in 1977 when he was discovered by the French directeur sportif Jean de Gribaldy, until his retirement in 1994, Kelly won nine 'Monument' Classics, and 193 professional races in total, a tally only bettered by Eddy Merckx. Kelly also won the Paris-Nice stage race seven years in a row, and won the inaugural UCI Road World Cup in 1989.

He has a Grand Tour victory to his credit in the 1988 Vuelta a España, and multiple wins in the Giro di Lombardia, Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Other victories include the Critérium International, Grand Prix des Nations and many smaller tours, including the Tour de Suisse, Vuelta al País Vasco and Volta a Catalunya.

Notably missing from his list of victories is the World Cycling Championship rainbow jersey, which he almost won in a close battle against Greg LeMond in 1989. When the FICP Road World Rankings were first introduced in March 1984, Kelly was the first rider to be ranked world No.1, a position he held for over six years, which is the competition record. Kelly was known to be one of the hard men of professional cycling, achieving 33 victories in one season (1984).

While some sprinters prefer to remain sheltered in the peloton until the final few hundred metres of a race, Kelly was capable of instigating breaks and could climb well, proving this by winning the Vuelta a España in 1988. His victories in Paris-Roubaix (1984, 1986) showed his ability to battle against poor weather and terrible road conditions, while in the Tour de France he could stay with the climbing specialists in the mountains. He finished fourth in the Tour in 1985 and won the "Maillot vert" (Green Jersey) in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1989, becoming the first rider to win the Tour's points classification four times, a feat he repeated in the Vuelta a España. Kelly won 21 stages in Grand Tours, five in the Tour de France and 16 in the Vuelta a España.

Early professional career

Kelly had a strong amateur career in Ireland being the Junior Champion of Ireland in 1972 and 1973 as well as winning the Shay Elliot Memorial race in 1974 and 1975 and stage wins in the Tour of Ireland of 1975. [cite web| url=http://seankelly.com/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=4 |title=Sean Kelly career wins |publisher=seankelly.com |accessdate=2007-04-16] In order to prepare for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, he and fellow Irish team competitor Pat McQuaid went to South Africa to compete a stage-race there even though there was a sporting boycott on in this country at that time. Kelly and McQuaid were caught and were then banned from competing in the Olympic Games. [cite web| url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/interviews/?id=pat_mcquaid05a |title=An interview with Pat McQuaid by Shane Stokes |publisher=Cyclingnews |accessdate=2007-04-16] As a result, Kelly spent the summer of 1976 as an amateur in France and went on to win the Amateur Giro di Lombardia. It was at this time that he was spotted by French directeur sportif Jean de Gribaldy who came to Ireland to offer him a contract to ride for the Belgian Flandria professional team. [cite web| url=http://www.jeandegribaldy.com/index.php?zone=pages/kelly |title=Sean Kelly et J. de Gribaldy |publisher=jeandegribaldy.com |accessdate=2007-06-07] Kelly would stay with de Gribaldy for the 1977 and 1978 seasons which included a stage win in his first Tour de France. Kelly changed team in 1979 and it was not until 1982 that he would be rejoined with Jean de Gribaldy in the Sem-France Loire team. During this time Kelly had a reputation as a sprinter who could not win stage races, although he did perform well in stage races such as finishing fourth overall in the 1980 Vuelta a España.cite web|url=http://www.cyclebase.nl/?lang=nl&news=nl&pc=normal&page=races&db=m&id=1181|title=Vuelta a Espana|publisher=Cyclebase.nl|accessdate=2007-09-20] Having been reunited with de Gribaldy in 1982, Kelly won Paris-Nice and the Maillot vert (i.e., the green sprinter’s jersey) of the Tour de France. [cite web| url=http://www.jeandegribaldy.com/index.php?zone=pages/equ_82|title= 1982 Sem France Loire Campagno |publisher=jeandegribaldy.com |accessdate=2007-06-07] He finished third in the UCI Road World Championships. In a tribute to Kelly's achievements in the 1982 Tour de France and his bronze medal at the World Championships Kelly's home town, Carrick on Suir, named the town square "the Sean Kelly Square." [cite book|title=Kelly: A biography |first=David |last=Walsh |year=1991 |isbn=978-1856880244 |publisher=Springfield Books] The following year Kelly defended his Paris-Nice win before building on his stage race achievements by winning the Criterium International and the Tour de Suisse as well as winning the Maillot vert of the Tour de France for a second time in a row.

Height of professional career

In the autumn of 1983 that Kelly finally broke through with a win in one of cycling’s monuments to confirm the potential he had. After a tough battle over the Intelvi and Schignano passes, a leading group of 18 riders entered the streets of Como to battle for victory in the Giro di Lombardia. Against some of the greatest cyclists of the 1980s, including Francesco Moser, Adri Van Der Poel, Hennie Kuiper and reigning world champion Greg LeMond, Kelly won the sprint by the narrowest of margins, with less than half a wheel separating the first four.

Kelly dominated the sport the following spring earning the nickname ‘the new cannibal.’ He won Paris-Nice for the third successive time beating fellow Irishman Stephen Roche as well as the then four time Tour de France winner Frenchman Bernard Hinault [cite web| url=http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/stageraces/ParisNice/parisnice.html|title= Paris-Nice history and results |publisher=bikeracerinfo.com |accessdate=2007-06-11] who was returning to form after a knee injury. Kelly finished second in Milan-Sanremo and the Ronde van Vlaanderen, but was unbeatable in Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. On the paper following his Paris-Roubaix triumph, the French daily sports newspaper l’Equipe had a picture of Kelly cycling over the cobbles with mud on his face and the heading "Insatiable Kelly!" referring to his appetite for winning that spring [ L’équipe newspaper page 1 April 16th 1984 ] In the Critérium International, he won all three stages: after winning the bunch sprint on stage 1, he took a solo victory in the mountain stage, and beat compatriot Stephen Roche in the final individual time trial. In total Kelly achieved 33 victories in 1984. He was becoming an emerging contender in the Grand Tours as could be seen by him finishing fifth overall in the Tour de France. This may have caused him to lose his grip on the Maillot vert in that year’s Tour. Kelly was wearing the maillot vert as the Tour was finishing on the Champs-Élysées but lost it in the final bunch finish to Belgian Frank Hoste who finished ahead of Kelly on the stage gaining valuable points to take the jersey off Kelly’s shoulders. [cite web| url=http://www.skilcyclingteam.com/blog/?cat=6|title= Sean Kelly ‘Dit jaar doe ik een gooi naar de wereldtitel’|publisher=Skil Shimano Cycling team |accessdate=2007-06-11]

In 1985, he won Paris-Nice again beating Stephen Roche. In the 1985 Tour de France he won the Maillot vert for the third time and finished fourth in the General Classification. Kelly won the first edition of the Nissan International Classic tour of Ireland beating Adri Van Der Poel. At the end of the season, he won the Giro di Lombardia. In 1986 he won Milan-Sanremo after winning Paris-Nice, he finished second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and won Paris-Roubaix again. He finished for the first time on a podium in a Grand Tour when he finished third overall in the 1986 Vuelta a España. He returned to Ireland and won the Nissan Classic again. His second win in the Nissan Classic came after a duel with Canadian Steve Bauer who took the yellow jersey after Kelly crashed numerous times. Kelly went into the final stage 3 seconds behind Bauer on the general classification and took the jersey when he finished third on the stage and won bonus seconds. [cite web|url=http://www.loserdomzine.com/nissanclassic1986.htm|title=Loserdom's guide to the 1986 Nissan Classic|publisher=Loserdomzine.com|accessdate=2007-10-09]

In 1987 Kelly won Paris-Nice on the very last day after Roche who was wearing the Leader’s jersey got a puncture in the finale of the stage and fell many places down the general classification. Later while leading the Vuelta a España with three days to go, he was forced to retire due to an infection. It was a bitter disappointment for him, and his bad luck continued in the Tour de France, having to retire after a crash tore ligaments in his shoulder. After the UCI Road World Championships in which in finished fifth behind Roche, Kelly returned to win his home tour, the Nissan Classic, for the third consecutive time with Roche finishing second.

In 1988 Kelly returned in the spring to win his seventh Paris-Nice (a record). Several weeks later he won Gent-Wevelgem. In April he returned to the 1988 Vuelta a España. During the first two weeks of the race, Kelly had stayed two minutes behind race leader Spaniard Laudelino Cubino but on stage 13 which was won by Colombian Fabio Parra, Kelly finished fourth on the stage behind Parra and Anselmo Fuerte. Kelly managed to cut over one minute and a half into Cubino’s lead. [cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16184|title= The Irish Emigrant May 8th 1988 issue no. 68 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11] From this stage, Anselmo Fuerte had moved himself into second overall and later took the jersey from Cubino on the sixteenth stage. [cite web| url=http://www.lavuelta.com/04/ingles/historia/88etapas.asp?a=1988&s=etapas&t=etapas&e=17|title= Stage winners and yellow jersey holders of 1988 Tour of Spain |accessdate=2007-06-11] But Kelly maintained the tight gap between himself and Fuerte and started the final Individual time trial of the second last day 21 seconds behind the leaders jersey. Kelly rode himself to the stage win and closed the gap to take the leaders Amarillo jersey from Fuerte. The following day Kelly would win his only grand tour over West German Raimund Dietzen. [cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16185|title= The Irish Emigrant May 15th 1988 issue no. 67 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11] He also won the Points competition. [cite web| url= http://www.lavuelta.com/04/ingles/historia/88clasi.asp?a=1988&s=clasi&t=clasificaciones&e=17#
title= Classifications of the 1988 Vuelta |publisher=lavuelta.com |accessdate=2007-06-07] After his Vuelta win Kelly returned home to Carrick an Suir where there was a parade held in his honour. [cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16186|title= The Irish Emigrant May 22nd 1988 issue no. 68 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11]

In the Tour de France of that year Kelly finished in 46th position just over an hour behind Spaniard Pedro Delgado. After this Kelly was no longer a contender for the overall victory in Grand Tours and even admitted that he’d never win the Tour de France. [cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=17047|title= The Irish Emigrant July 24th 1988 issue no. 76 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11] In the Nissan Classic of that year, Kelly finished third behind German Rolf Gölz.

At the rainy world road championships of 1989 at Chambéry France, Kelly finished third in the final sprint behind Dimitri Konyshev and Greg Lemond. Lemond won his second rainbow jersey as world road race champion that day.

Kelly then switched teams to the Dutch PDM team with whom he stayed with for three years until the end of 1991. The following year he won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Green Jersey in the Tour de France, and the inaugural UCI Road World Cup championship.In 1990 Kelly won the Tour de Suisse. In 1991, Kelly had a tough year with a broken collarbone in March [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DC1F3CF933A25756C0A967958260|title= Kelly Trying to Recover Ground Lost to Injuries|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2007-10-02] , then he had to pull out of the 1991 Tour de France [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1D6113FF934A25754C0A967958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fT%2fTour%20de%20France%20%28Bicycle%20Race%29|title=Illness forces entire PDM team to quit Tour|publisher=NY Times|accessdate=2007-10-02] and then while Seán was competing the Tour of Galicia in August, his brother Joe was tragically killed in a bicycle race near Carrick-on-Suir. [cite web|url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=58486|title=News: Bits and Pieces|publisher=Irish Emigrant|accessdate=2007-10-02] He came back to win his fourth Nissan Classic by only four seconds over Sean Yates [cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=59800|title= The Irish Emigrant September 30th 1991 issue no. 243 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11] and then went to and won the classic at the end of the season, the Giro di Lombardia.

Twilight of his career

After winning the Giro di Lombardia for a third time in 1991, he started 1992 generally regarded as past his prime. With a change of team to Festina, Kelly prepared for the season's opening classic, Milan-Sanremo. Kelly had one early season stage win in Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana after which he rode in the Tirreno-Adriatico.

On the final climb of the Milan-Sanremo, the Poggio, race favourite Moreno Argentin attacked from the leading group. After several attacks, he finally broke clear and scaled the climb, reaching the top with some eight seconds advance on the peloton. It seemed that Argentin was well on his way to a solo victory as the peloton descended the Poggio where Maurizio Fondriest led on the descent, marked by Argentin’s teammate Rolf Sorensen. Behind these two in the third position was Kelly. With around three kilometres left of descending Kelly attacked, Sorensen could not hold his acceleration and Kelly got away. Kelly descended very well and caught Argentin under the kilometre kite (one kilometre to go). With the chasing group closing fast, both riders stalled momentarily, Argentin even sat up and gestured to Kelly to take the front but Kelly stayed on Argentin’s wheel. The two moved again, preparing for a sprint; Kelly launched himself and in the final 200 metres came past Argentin to claim his final Classic victory. In 1992, Kelly traveled over to Colombia and competed in the Clasico RCN where he won the second stage. [cite web|url=http://www.jeandegribaldy.com/index.php?zone=pages/kelly|title=Sean Kelly Palmeres|publisher=Jean de Gribaldy.com|accessdate=2007-10-02] PDM teammate Martin Earley pushed Kelly into 2nd place in the 1993 Irish National Road Race Championship. Kelly’s last year as a professional was 1994 when he rode for the Catavana team. That year, he won a silver medal in the Irish National Cycling Championships behind Martin Earley. Often at the end of the racing season, Kelly would return to Carrick on Suir and would ride the annual Hamper race that used to be held. That year the Hamper race was Kelly’s last race as a professional. Eddy Merckx, Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault, Roger De Vlaeminck, Claude Criquielion, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley, Acacio Da Silva, Paul Kimmage and Phil Liggett were among the 1,200 cyclists who turned up for the event. [cite web| url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/dec01/dec13news3.php |title=Cyclingnews December 13 2001 Hamper Race |publisher=Cyclingnews |accessdate=2007-07-04] The President of Ireland at the time, Mary Robinson, attended a civic presentation to Seán the day before the race. Kelly won the race in a sprint against Stephen Roche. Kelly would win this race again 6 years later.

Kelly's career is remarkable in that it spanned the eras of several cycling legends of the Tour de France. In his first year as a professional he rode against aging yet still challenging Eddy Merckx. His first Tour was also the first Tour for Bernard Hinault and the two battled in the sprint of Stage 15. Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon emerged in the early eighties and battled with Kelly in classics as well as in the Tour, and Kelly witnessed the rise of Miguel Indurain and the early career of Lance Armstrong. In addition, Kelly's career coincided with that of his fellow Irishman and occasional rival Stephen Roche as well as the many classics specialists of the eighties and early nineties which included Francesco Moser, Claude Criquielion, Moreno Argentin and Eric Vanderaerden. Evidence of Kelly's dominance can be seen from his three victories in the season-long "Super Prestige Pernod International" competition (the predecessor to the World Cup). Kelly also competed throughout the entire season, from the season-opener Paris-Nice in early March to season-finale Giro di Lombardia in October, starting and finishing the season by winning both of these events in 1983 and 1985.

Kelly is also the subject of several books, including his biography "Kelly" and "A man for all seasons" by David Walsh.

Post-cycling career

Kelly is still involved in cycling; he is now a commentator for Eurosport on major cycling events and has established and is heavily involved in the Seán Kelly Cycling Academy in Belgium. In 2006 Kelly launched Ireland's first professional cycling team, the Seán Kelly Team, composed of young Irish and Belgian riders based around the Seán Kelly Cycling Academy and managed by Kelly.

He participates in long-distance charity cycling tours with the "Blazing Saddles", a cycling charity dedicated to raising money for the blind and partially sighted. Such tours have included a journey across America by bike in 2001.

He also participates in charity cycling endurance events in Scotland (notably with the Braveheart Cycling Fund), England, France and his native Ireland.

The inaugural Seán Kelly Tour of Waterford was held on the 19 August 2007. [cite web
title = Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford
url = http://www.theseankellytour.com/Default.aspx
accessdate = 2007-08-20 ] Kelly was one of the 600 participants.

The 2nd Seán Kelly Tour of Waterford was held on the 24 August 2008. Kelly was one of the 2048 participants

Major results

Grand Tour record

*1978 - Tour de France: 34th GC; Stage 6 win
*1979 - Tour de France: 38th GC
*1979 - Vuelta a España: Stages 1 and 5 wins
*1980 - Tour de France: 29th GC; Stages 19 and 21 wins; 2nd Points class
*1980 - ; Stages 1, 2, 14, 17 and 19 wins; Sprints class winner
*1981 - Tour de France: 48th GC; Stage 17 win
*1982 - ; Stage 13 win
*1983 - ;
*1984 - Tour de France: 5th GC; 2nd Points class
*1985 - ;
*1985 - ; Stages 2, 9 and 15 wins
*1986 - ; Stages 10 and 13 wins; Mixed class winner
*1987 - Tour de France: DNF
*1987 - Vuelta a España: DNF; Stages 1 and 3 wins; held Gold Leaders Jersey for 4 stages
*1988 - Tour de France: 46th GC; 3rd Points class
*1988 - ; Stages 11 and 20 wins; Mixed class winner
*1989 -
*1990 - Tour de France: 30th GC
*1991 - Tour de France: DNF
*1992 - Tour de France: 43rd GC

'Monument' victories (9)

*Milan-Sanremo 1986, 1992
*Paris-Roubaix 1984, 1986
*Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1984, 1989
*Giro di Lombardia 1983, 1985, 1991 (also won amateur version in 1976)

Other 'classic' victories

*Paris-Tours 1984
*GP Plouay 1984
*Gent-Wevelgem 1988
*Grand Prix des Nations 1986
*Tour du Haut Var 1982
*Criterium des As 1984, 1985, 1986
*GP d'Isbergues 1983
*Paris-Bourges 1984

tage race victories

*Vuelta a España (1988)
*Paris-Nice (1982-1988) (7 consecutive wins, a record)
*Tour de Suisse (1983, 1990)
*Volta a Catalunya (1984, 1986)
*Vuelta al País Vasco (1984, 1986, 1987)
*Critérium International (1983, 1984, 1987)
*Setmana Catalana (1988)
*Three Days of De Panne (1980)
*Nissan International Classic (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991) (4 wins, a record)

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.seankelly.com/index.php SeanKelly.com]
* [http://www.seankellycyclingacademy.com/ Sean Kelly Cycling Academy]
* [http://www.jeandegribaldy.com/index.php?zone=pages/kelly Sean Kelly and Jean de Gribaldy, fr icon]

Persondata
NAME= Kelly, Seán
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Kelly, Seán James
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1956-05-21
PLACE OF BIRTH=Curraghduff, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=