His points total was nearly three times that of the points classification runner-up, the yellow jersey winner Bernard Hinault. ", Robin Magowan, Kings of the Road: A Portrait of Racers and Racing.[126]. Many years ago, 'big Dan' decided to start a cycling club in Carrick on Suir so the young kids had something to do. In a profession of iron wills, there is no one harder. [13] And so it was, from humble beginnings, Sean soon joined Joe. [26] Kelly accepted the proposition and travelled to Metz in mid-June 1976. Sean Kelly has a net worth of $1 Million - $5 Million. Sen is the Irish form of John. The following year he won LigeBastogneLige, the points classification in the Tour de France, and the inaugural UCI Road World Cup championship. John James 'Sean' Kelly (born 24 May 1956)[5] is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer, one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest Classics riders of all time. The race saw him battle for the last step on the GC podium with Stephen Roche: although Roche finished the Tour in third position overall, the duo's performances saw interest in the race expanding gradually in the Irish press.
Sean Kelly - ProCyclingStats.com He and Bradley Wiggins have both won the Paris-Nice race. Kelly won the sprint to take his first Monument by the narrowest margin, less than half a wheel separating the first four, against cycling greats including Francesco Moser, Adri van der Poel, Hennie Kuiper and World Champion Greg LeMond. Other victories include the Grand Prix des Nations and stage races, the Critrium International, Tour de Suisse, Tour of the Basque Country and Volta a Catalunya. He was also a formidable descender, clocking a career top race speed of 124km/h (77mi/h), while descending from Col de Joux Plane to Morzine on stage 19 of the Tour in 1984. [63], On 19 March 1977, Kelly participated in his first Monument Classic, the MilanSan Remo.
Prince Andrew: Timely documentary on the infamous Maitlis interview De Gribaldy signed Nol Converset to ride with the Flandria team for the 1977 season. It was he who did all the race organising with Tony Ryan. After the 1987 Road World Championships Elite Men's Road Race, in which he finished fifth behind Roche, Kelly returned to Ireland to win the Nissan Classic for the third consecutive time. So, how much is Sean Kelly worth at the age of 67 years old?
What I've Learned: Sean Kelly - CyclingTips Updated on April 16, 2023 A retired Irish road cyclist who was one of the most successful cyclist of the 1980's. Sean Kelly was born on May 24, 1956 in Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland. He and Bradley Wiggins have both won the Paris-Nice race. Sean Kelly published his autobiography Hunger in 2013. Sean Kelly was born on 24 May, 1956 in Carrick-On-Suir, Ireland. Kelly was first to be ranked No.1 when the FICP rankings were introduced in March 1984, a position he held for a record five years. [39] The money earned made cycling with Metz worthwhile. The President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, attended a civic presentation to Kelly the day before the race. "It is customary to talk of Kelly as quintessentially an Irish rider. Irish Examiner Ltd, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. [13] The race was an eight-mile (12.87km) handicap, which meant the weaker riders started first and the best last. [13] In the Kelly household, the pattern was for Joe to do something, and Sean would follow in his footsteps. So, how much is Sean Kelly worth at the age of 67 years old? Kelly won Milan-San Remo before, in 1986. From becoming a professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won 193 professional races, including nine Monument Classics . Despite that, that season he went on to win another of objectives set by de Gribaldy: the points classification of the Tour de France, where he took five second places on flat stages before winning a reduced bunch sprint in Pau after climbing the Col d'Aubisque. [100] During the 1991 Tour de France, the entire PDM team, including Kelly, abandoned the race, citing illness, which later became known as the "Intralipid Affair. Published. [73][74][75], Kelly confirmed his potential in autumn 1983. John Morris was a British enthusiast who acted as a talent scout on behalf of French cycling clubs. They were racing again when the International Olympic Committee banned them from the Olympics for life. But a smaller, less pretentious team can have its advantages for a rider of Kelly's sort. In order to shake Vanderaerden, Kelly feigned a mechanical problem before sprinting away to join the lead group, and drove hard on the front to prevent Niki Rttimann, LeMond's team-mate, who had followed Kelly, from linking up with the front group: Kelly won the three-up sprint at the finish. [87] Kelly took more than 30 victories in total across the 1986 season.[85]. [10] Together, both he and Sean cycled to and from school. He failed tests after Paris-Brussels in 1984 and the Tour of the Basque Country in 1988. Kelly's last year as a professional was 1994, when he rode for Catavana. Occupation: Cyclist Born In: Lemont, Illinois, USA Birthdate: May 22, 1976 Age: 46 years old (as of 2023) Ethnicity: Unknown Nationality: American Sexuality: N/A Christian Vande Velde was born on the 22nd of May, 1976. Sean Kelly net worth and salary: Sean Kelly is a Cyclist who has a net worth of $18 million. His team, LotusFestina, was offered a wild card entry under the condition that Kelly was, included in their starting team. Sean Kelly's training regime and his advice to cyclists in lock-down Unfortunately he came off the worse for wear as he suffered a broken collarbone and also fractured several ribs. [60] Several years later, a photographer who had captured a photo at the finish line that day met Kelly in southern France, showing him the image which provided emphatic evidence that Kelly was the winner of the stage. The three Irish were suspended from racing for six months. Kelly's first professional race was the toile de Bessges. [13] In Joe's classroom, the representatives from the cycling club encouraged the pupils to join a recently formed schoolboy cycling league. Sean Kelly's income source is mostly from being a successful . The inaugural Irish National Professional Road Championships transpired on 26 June 1994 on the Isle of Man, during the Manx International, which merged with the British National Championships. He returned to Carrick-on-Suir at the end of the season to ride the annual Hamper race. , money, salary, income, and assets. [42], During Kelly's stint with Velo Club Metz in the 1976 season, an impressive stage win at the Tour de Haute-Marne in Northeastern France caught the attention of Jean-Pierre Douot. [95], Kelly finished 46th overall in the 1988 Tour de France, just over an hour behind winner, Spaniard Pedro Delgado, and later admitted he was no longer a contender for overall victory. [51] Kelly successfully negotiated a deal, asking for 6000 in the process, which Gribaldy agreed to. However, on the Spanish mainland, Kelly concentrated on winning sprint time bonuses, battling with sprinter Jorge Dominguez, the BH teammate of leader, Laudelino Cubino. Both Maertens and Pollentier wanted Kelly. [65][66] On 25 May 1977, Kelly won the French one-day race Circuit de l'Indre, outsprinting Eddy Merckx into second place. Sean Kelly was born in the middle of Baby Boomers Generation. [7] He was born at Belleville Maternity Home in Waterford City on 24 May 1956. [42][45] The three Frenchmen hired a taxi in Dublin to take them to Carrick-on-Suir. On 29 August 2010, 3708 cyclists took part in the Tour. He caught Argentin with a kilometre to go. [82], "On his best form there is nothing you can do against Kelly: he climbs better than the best climbers and sprints better than the best sprinters. 947 views 1 year ago Cycling monument specialist Sean Kelly won his second Paris-Roubaix using his deadly finish to come out on top in the final. He has a cycling clothing company which supplies clubs and companies, and which also organises corporate cycling events in Ireland and throughout Europe. Sean Kelly's net worth Sorensen could not hold his acceleration and Kelly got away. [n 2][30] When the Irish Cycling Federation received news of their escapades in South Africa, Kelly and the McQuaids incurred a seven-month suspension from racing,[31] reduced after an appeal to six months. Sean Kelly (cyclist) : biography 21 May 1956 - John James 'Sean' Kelly (born 24 May 1956)Walsh, David (1986), Kelly, Harrap, UK, ISBN -245-54331-7, p29 is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. [110], In 1992, Kelly travelled to Colombia for the Clsico RCN, where he won the second stage. Join Sean Kelly on June 25th for an easy 50k or slightly more challenging 100k cycle around Wicklow to help over 600,000 Migrane sufferers throughout Ireland. [72] The following year, 1983, Kelly won ParisNice for the second time, the first of three Critrium International victories, his first Tour de Suisse and the points classification in the Tour de France for the second consecutive year. [94] After his Vuelta win Kelly returned to Carrick-on-Suir where a parade was held in his honour. Sean Kelly's birthstone is Emerald. Sean Kelly is one of the greatest cyclists in the history of the sport.
Sean Kelly - Net Worth and Salary [60] Maertens won the opening prologue and defended his leader's jersey throughout the entire race winning overall. His winning time of 24:09 was 49 seconds quicker than second-placed Stephen Roche.
King of the hills - inside the mansion built by cycling legend Sean In November 2013, at Dublin City University, Sean Kelly was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy in recognition of his contribution to Irish sport. Kelly won his seventh consecutive ParisNice in the spring of 1988, a record. A retired Irish road cyclist who was one of the most successful cyclist of the 1980's. The 66-year-old cyclist was born in Ireland. Known as 'The King of the Classics' he achieved 193 professional victories and is ranked the second-best cyclist of all time. Age 66 years old. According to his autobiography Hunger, Kelly gave his support to Van der Poel in the latter's bid to win Flanders in exchange for the Dutchman's help in the French cobbled Classic. Cyclist. A leading group of 18 entered Como in the Giro di Lombardia after a battle over the Intelvi and Schignano passes. They speculated that he might have been reading or writing letters home, but weren't really sure what he was up to. [26], Kelly's time with Velo Club Metz proved lucrative as he returned home to Ireland 800 richer.
Sen Kelly wins planning row with council over changes at cyclist's [96] He finished third behind the German, Rolf Glz, in the 1988 Nissan Classic. The two moved again, preparing for a sprint; Kelly launched himself and in the final 200m came past Argentin to win his final Classic. Kelly set off three minutes before the backmarkers. [26] He received a swift reply, offering free accommodation, 25 per week and free replacements for cycling equipment impaired during races. He won ParisNice seven years in a row and the first UCI Road World Cup in 1989. In the 1984 season, Kelly achieved 33 victories. That was Kelly's last race as a professional. Kelly finished 46th in the Tour de France just over an hour behind Pedro Delgado. Eddy Merckx, Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault, Roger De Vlaeminck, Claude Criquielion, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley, Acacio Da Silva and Paul Kimmage were among 1,200 cyclists present. Council planners ruled the changes could potentially pose a risk to public health as the facility was connected to an existing septic tank contrary to development management standards. [26] Soon after arriving, his motivation grew when he learned Velo Club Metz had an arrangement that a rider would pocket four francs a kilometre for every race won. [53] He shared with four teammates, Nol Converset, Marcel Tinazzi, Ren Bittinger and Dominique Sanders. peloton as the British cyclists were Sean Kelly, Martin Earley and Joe Barr, of which the best-placed would become the first-ever Irish National Professional Road Champion. ", Robin Magowan, Kings of the Road: A Portrait of Racers and Racing.[116]. [19] He won three stages of the 1975 Tour of Ireland and the mountains jersey. Sean Kelly regularly cycles with SportActive cycling holidays in Mallorca. [91], Kelly maintained the gap between himself and Fuerte and started the time trial on the second last day 21 seconds behind. In Kelly's case it was to mean working for the collection of underpaid has-beens that de Gribaldy habitually assembled. Fellow pupils at Kelly's school [see above] felt Kelly fell silent because he felt intellectually outclassed. [25] Steinhoff offered Kelly a place on the amateur team V. C Metz-Woippy. He is known for giving great insight into races and typically commentates on all the big races including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espaa. While some sprinters remain sheltered in the peloton until the final few hundred metres, Kelly could instigate breaks and climb well, proving this by winning the Vuelta a Espaa in 1988, as well as winning a stage of ParisNice on the climb of Mont Ventoux. Kelly won the national championship again in 1973, then took a senior licence before the normal qualifying age of 18 and won the Shay Elliot Memorial race in 1974 and again in 1975 and stages in the Tour of Ireland of 1975.
'Sean Kelly is the Rolls Royce of co-commentators': Q&A with Eurosport In civilian life, he seems to have been intolerable. Registered in Ireland: 523712. Kelly was behind these two in third position. In 1978, he started in the Tour de France, in which he also won a stage.
Sean Kelly (cyclist) - Wikipedia It has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and love. Kelly's winning average speed of 52.173km/h (32.419mi/h) was faster than any individual had ever accomplished in a time trial, further than 20km. He also participates in charity cycling endurance events in Scotland (notably with the Braveheart Cycling Fund), England, France and Ireland. He was no longer a contender for overall victory after this and said he'd never win the Tour de France.
Palmares - SeanKellyCycling It was the only time he would wear the "maillot jaune" (English: yellow jersey) at the Tour. In an age when most of his brethren rate themselves, and are paid, according to the amount of publicity inches they have gleaned in a season, this farmer's son remains very much the exception, closed, withdrawn, and extremely suspicious. In 2018, the organisers of The Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford completed a review and decided not to run the event and to look at other cycling initiatives in and around Waterford. [10] At school, he was exceedingly shy, unsure of himself and felt intellectually outclassed by other pupils in his class. File photo: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE. [46] Arriving unexpectedly, Jack and Nellie Kelly greeted them. [56] Good performances meant promotion from de Gribaldy's French squad to the Belgian team. Kelly achieved 33 victories in 1984. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Having finished fourth in the overall classification, he received a ten-minute penalty that dropped him down the order. Discover Sean Kelly's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Kelly missed the 1986 Tour de France due to a serious crash in the last stage of Tour de Suisse. In his appeal, the cyclist said he was born and reared on his family farm in the nearby townland of Curraghduff and had built the family home for the couple and their two children on a 85-acre site following his retirement from professional cycling in 1994. Kelly twice won bronze medals (1982, 1989) in the World Road Race Championships and finished 5th in 1987, the year compatriot Stephen Roche won gold. Both Maertens and Pollentier wanted Kelly.
Sportactive - Sean Kelly's career Kelly's career coincided with Stephen Roche as well as Classics specialists including Francesco Moser, Claude Criquielion, Moreno Argentin and Eric Vanderaerden. Kelly Rose above it and rode for himself. A FORMER top professional cycling masseur has made a number of sensational drugs allegations about former world number one, Sean Kelly. "[44] Both parties agreed to go to Kelly's home in Curraghduff for negotiations. It attracted over 3,400 participants. In his book Massacre la chane: Rvlations sur 30 ans de tricheries (Chain massacre: Revelations on 30 years of cheating), Kelly's former soigneur Willy Voet claimed that Kelly had been ill with bronchitis in the week before the race and had taken ephedrine to treat it: to avoid a positive test, Voet wrote that Kelly had carried a container in his shorts filled with urine supplied by one of the team's mechanics to doping control, and that the Stimul detected in the sample had been taken by the mechanic to help him stay awake while driving the team's truck. When the FICP rankings became established in March 1984, Kelly was the first cyclist to be ranked World No.1, a position he held for a record five consecutive years. Kelly attacked with three kilometres of descending left. Sign up to to get the latestnews directto your inbox daily at 1pm, Commemorating 100 years since the War of Independence, Select your favourite newsletters and get the best of Irish Examiner delivered to your inbox. [10] His education ended aged only 13 when he left school to help on the farm at home after his father went to a hospital in Waterford with an ulcer. Both stalled, the chasers closing fast, Argentin gesturing to Kelly to take the front. Kelly competed throughout the season, from ParisNice in March to the Giro di Lombardia in October, winning both in 1983 and 1985. Sean Kelly's career John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. [n 5][113][114]. He broke clear after several attempts and reached the top eight seconds before the rest. Kelly was one of the 2,048. [6] In the 1984 season, Kelly achieved 33 victories. [98][99] In March 1991, while competing in the ParisNice, he broke his right collarbone. People don't watch tennis, but they watch Wimbledon. He achieved multiple victories in the Giro di Lombardia, MilanSan Remo, ParisRoubaix and LigeBastogneLige, as well as three runners-up placings in the only Monument he failed to win, the Tour of Flanders. Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon emerged in the early eighties and challenged Kelly in the Classics as well as in the Tour, and Kelly witnessed the rise of Miguel Indurin and the early career of Lance Armstrong. He left the team at the end of the season and started his own, with a new backer, Splendor. [41], On 9 December 1976, a private jet was flown from Dole Airport, near Besanon and landed at Dublin Airport. [43] Later, Kelly's win at the end of the season on 2 October 1976 in the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia[26] left an indelible impression, which convinced de Gribaldy to act upon Douot's earlier recommendation. It attracted over 3,400 participants. The most notable of these was a young Sean Kelly. Roles were reversed as Kelly followed Van der Poel in latching onto an attack from Ferdi Van Den Haute on a late cobbled secteur to form another four-man group along with Rudy Dhaenens. [121], Kelly's second positive test occurred at the 1988 Tour of the Basque Country, where he tested positive for codeine. He was paid about 30,000 plus bonuses in his last season. He won the points classification for the third time and finished fourth in the 1985 Tour de France. [44] Dagot emerged from the taxi hailing the tractor and asked the driver, "Are you Sean Kelly?" To this end, de Gribaldy encouraged Kelly to lose weight, convincing the latter that he could target the overall win at ParisNice: Kelly won the "Race to the Sun" and four of its stages. [14] Kelly set off three minutes before the backmarkers, which included his brother Joe. Kelly is the second son of Jack (John) and Nellie Kelly, a farming family in Curraghduff, County Waterford. [78] He won all three stages in the Critrium International: the bunch sprint on stage 1, a solo victory in the mountain stage and beating Roche in the final time trial. Kelly returned in April to the 1988 Vuelta a Espaa which started on the rugged mountainous island of Tenerife where his team struggled in the second stage, losing the influential rider Thomas Wegmller to dysentery and losing further time in the time-trial around Las Palmas.
Sean Kelly's training regime and his advice to cyclists in lock-down His first Tour was also the first for Bernard Hinault and the two battled in the sprint of stage 15. King of the hills - inside the mansion built by cycling legend Sean Kelly in the valley near Slievenamon T he 6,200 sq ft house near Carrick-on-Suir was designed by architect Duncan Stewart. Competing in the same Tony rode many Rsanna in the 60s and 70s with the Tipperary team. He broke clear after several attempts and reached the top eight seconds before the rest. Kelly was recruited as a domestique for Maertens in the main team for year's ParisNice shortly afterwards he won his first race, the opening stage of the Tour de Romandie. [22] Kelly's exploits at the 1975 Tour of Britain caught the eye of a Londoner, John Morris,[n 1] who had connections with amateur Velo Club Metz in Metz, France. referring to his appetite for winning that spring He won all three stages in the Critrium International: the bunch sprint on stage 1, a solo victory in the mountain stage and beating Roche in the final time trial. [42][44] Onboard was directeur sportif Jean de Gribaldy, pilot Bernard Dagot and a youthful French amateur cyclist, Nol Converset. He won the 1988 Vuelta a Espaa and had multiple wins in the Giro di Lombardia, MilanSan Remo, ParisRoubaix and LigeBastogneLige. [16], Kelly won the National Junior Road Championships again in 1973. 76 Sports news", "Sean Kelly on the race that still haunts him three decades on", "THE SIDELINES: Kelly Wins Tour of Switzerland", "Kelly Trying to Recover Ground Lost to Injuries", "Illness forces entire PDM team to quit Tour", "GALLERY: THE TOUR OF LOMBARDY, IL LOMBARDIA THE RACE OF THE FALLING LEAVES", "Sen Kelly: Back to the Finestre with the Irish cycling legend", "We look back at the great Sean Kelly's one and only appearance in the Giro d'Italia", "National Championship, Road, Elite, Ireland 1994", "Cyclingnews December 13, 2001 Hamper Race", "Kelly's heroes Sean is still very much in the saddle", "Inside Cycling The Tour of Ireland's forgotten time trial", "Video: Jimmy Magee commentary on Sean Kelly in iconic 1985 Nissan TT", "1989 >> 76th Tour de France Stage 21 (ITT) (Final) >> Versailles > Paris (24.5km)", "Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford cancelled for 2018", "Hunger: The Autobiography, by Sean Kelly", "Every winner of RT Sportsperson of the Year since 1985", "Top sports award for cycling legend Kelly", "Brian O'Driscoll and Sean Kelly honoured at DCU", "Cycling icon Sean Kelly given lifetime achievement award at Cycling Weekly Awards 2019", Tour de France intermediate sprints classification, Vuelta a Espaa general classification winners, Vuelta a Espaa combination classification, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sean_Kelly_(cyclist)&oldid=1151853332, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Articles using sports links with data from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 17:17. [127], In December 1986, Sean Kelly won the RT Sports Person of the Year Award. The first 150 to enter get a free high quality jersey Entries are open now for just 59: giv2go.com Migraine Ireland 50-100km Cycle 2022 | Giv2Go Sean Kelly (born 1956-05-24 in Waterford) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Ireland, active between 1972 and 1994. But Splendor was new and logistic problems became obvious. By Brian Canty. He then finished fourth behind stage-winner Fabio Parra and Anselmo Fuerte on stage 13 to the ski-station at Cerler, cutting a minute and a half into Cubino's lead. Kelly tested positive twice during his career.
[] [42], Kelly travelled to France in late January 1977 and lived for two years at 18, Place de la Rvolution (formerly, Place du March) in Besanon, de Gribaldy's home town. A retired Irish road cyclist who was one of the most successful cyclist of the 1980's. Sean Kelly is a member of Cyclist Age, Biography and Wiki Net worth: $18 million (2023) About The strongest riders in both camps came together for big races.
Who is Sam Bennett, who is his wife Tara Fogarty and how much did he [47], Flandria were a Belgian cycling team sponsored by a Belgian company Flandria, which manufactured bicycles, mopeds and scooters. He is known for being a Cyclist. [54] Flandria required a French squad to expand its commercial interests in France, so they hired Jean de Gribaldy to assemble and direct a new team. After Flanders, he flew to Spain to race the Tour of the Basque Country, which he won, before flying north to compete in ParisRoubaix. Kelly's career coincided with Stephen Roche as well as classics specialists including Francesco Moser, Claude Criquielion, Moreno Argentin and Eric Vanderaerden. John James 'Sean' Kelly (born 24 May 1956) is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer, one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest Classics riders of all time. Kelly finished third behind the German, Rolf Glz, in the Nissan Classic that year Kelly finished third in the sprint at the rainy world road championship of 1989 at Chambry, France, behind Dimitri Konyshev and Greg LeMond. In his autobiography Hunger, Kelly stated that Irish Cycling Federation official Karl McCarthy, who acted as a witness on Kelly's behalf at the second test as he was unable to attend due to racing commitments, told him that the B sample was "tiny" and below the amount required for the test. Sen Kelly wins planning row with council over changes at cyclist's family home, Annmarie O'Connor - Living Your Best Life, Tour de Munster proves a fundraising tour de force for Down Syndrome Ireland, Large garda presence as Kinsale 7s returns without a hitch, Tributes paid as GAA fan dies at Limerick v Clare hurling match, Cancer survivor trains for Kerry mountain trek in aid of butterfly skin charity, Organisation: Waterford City and County Council, Samus Coleman injury overshadows Everton's comeback against Leicester, GRA welcomes Policing Authority's concerns over garda disciplinary process, Athlone close the gap at the top after comfortable win over Finn Harps, Early goal helps Longford end Galway's perfect start, RT weather presenter returns to work following cancer treatment, Couple locked out of their Clonmel store once locked in with a vulture fund, Dalo's Hurling Show: Limerick hit a bump, one kiss is all it takes to ignite the Cork hurling romance. [28] The squad were called "Mum for Men" and managed by Tommy Shardelow. He won the points classification for the third time and finished fourth overall in the 1985 Tour de France, where his rivalry with Vanderaerden boiled over at the finish of the sixth stage in Reims: the latter veered to prevent Kelly from coming past in the final sprint, leading Kelly to push Vanderarden, and the Belgian pulling the Irishman's jersey in response. He rides long-distance charity cycling tours with Blazing Saddles, a charity raising money for the blind and partially sighted. Kelly was also an outstanding time trialist. By now Kelly had a reputation as a sprinter who could not win stage races, although he did finish fourth in the 1980 Vuelta a Espaa. His victories in ParisRoubaix (1984, 1986) showed his ability in poor weather and on pav sections, while he could stay with the climbing specialists in the mountains in the Tour de France. Sean Kelly has been one of the biggest icons in professional cycling for decades.The Irishman's pro racing career spanned almost 20 years and saw him take co. Kelly switched to the Dutch PDM team and stayed there three years until the end of 1991. [13] He joined the schoolboy league, began winning races, and joined the Carrick Wheelers Road Club as a new member. The Flandria team was in two parts: the strongest riders, such as the world champion Freddy Maertens, were in the main section, based in Belgium.