Sean Kelly was one of the best and most versatile racing cyclists during his active time. He won one-day races, won the Tour of Spain and took the green jersey of the best sprinter at the Tour de France. Today, he works as a TV commentator and will be a guest star at the Giro d'Italia in his native Ireland. Kelly spoke to TOUR about his tough youth in the countryside, the importance of a tractor for his cycling career and his hunt for money
TOUR: At first you didn't want to turn pro? Jean De Gribaldy is said to have had great problems finding you in 1976 ...
Sean Kelly: That's right. I had won a number of races as an amateur and knew that he had his eye on me. But I wanted to gain some experience before I turned professional. One day, De Gribaldy turned up at our yard with the contract. I was sitting on the tractor when he drove up in a taxi. He was determined to prevent me from signing for another team.
Why did De Gribaldy become so important to you at the start of your professional career?
He could tell immediately whether someone was talented. Compared to the French or Dutch riders in the team, I had hardly any experience in professional cycling because the races in Ireland were at a very low level. There were maybe 25 guys at the start, in Belgium or France there were more than 100, so I had big gaps when it came to tactics. He taught me everything.
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What impact have your successes had on the development of cycling in Ireland?
Our successes put cycling in the public eye. We were idols and more and more young people took up cycling. At the end of the 1980s, 130 to 150 riders took part in the Tour of Ireland for juniors, including at least a hundred Irish riders.
In 1998, the Tour de France started in Ireland. Did that have an impact on cycling there?
I have to talk about the time after my career ended, when some very talented Irish riders were riding in France and Italy. But they didn't have the opportunity to turn pro, because in the 90s riders from the former Eastern Bloc flooded the market and places in the pro teams became scarce. Yet some Irish riders deserved to ride for a professional team. At that time, the enthusiasm for cycling in Ireland came to a halt. Things picked up again with the 1998 Grand Départ. It was part of the development of the guys we see in the professional peloton today.
You can read the complete interview in TOUR 5/2014. order conveniently online here
