John James 'Sean' Kelly (born 21 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. From becoming a professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won 193 professional races, including nine Monument Classics, Paris–Nice a record seven years consecutively and the first UCI Road World Cup in 1989. Kelly won one Grand Tour, the 1988 Vuelta a España, and four green jerseys in the Tour de France. He achieved multiple victories in the Giro di Lombardia, Milan–San Remo, Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, as well as three runners-up placings in the only Monument he failed to win, the Tour of Flanders. Other victories include the Grand Prix des Nations and stage races, the Critérium International, Tour de Suisse, Tour of the Basque Country and Volta a Catalunya.
Kelly twice won bronze medals (1982, 1989) in the Road World Championships Elite Men's Road Race and finished fifth in 1987, the year compatriot Stephen Roche won gold. 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. In the 1984 season, Kelly achieved 33 victories.
Early life and amateur career
Kelly is the second son of Jack (John) and Nellie Kelly, a farming family in Curraghduff, County Waterford. He was born at Belleville Maternity Home in Waterford City on 24 May 1956. He was named John James Kelly after his father and was referred to as "Sean" to avoid confusion at home. Seán is the Irish form of John.
For eight years he was educated at Crehana National School, County Waterford, to which he travelled with his older brother Joe. The journey from home in Curraghduff to Crehana School was approximately a-mile-and-a-half. Together, both he and Sean cycled to and from school. Joe later recollects: "I suppose we were like most young fellows at that age – walking was too dull." Official records from his days at Crehana National School confirm Kelly's satisfactory attendance. At school, he was exceedingly shy, unsure of himself and felt intellectually outclassed by other pupils in his class. As a result, Kelly retreated into almost total silence. 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. At 16, he began work as a bricklayer.
In September 1969, a delegation from the newly formed Carrick Wheelers Road Club visited the Christian Brothers Secondary School, where Joe was a student. In Joe's classroom, the representatives from the cycling club encouraged the pupils to join a recently formed schoolboy cycling league. Joe was fascinated. He joined the schoolboy league, began winning races, and joined the Carrick Wheelers Road Club as a new member. In the Kelly household, the pattern was for Joe to do something, and Sean would follow in his footsteps. And so it was, from humble beginnings, Sean soon joined Joe. On Tuesday, 4 August 1970, aged 14, Sean competed in his first race at Kennedy Terrace, Carrickbeg, County Tipperary, part of Carrick-on-Suir. The race was an eight-mile (12.87 km) handicap, which meant the weaker riders started first and the best last. Kelly set off three minutes before the backmarkers, which included his brother Joe. He was still three minutes ahead of the pursuers when the course turned for home after four miles (6.43 km) and more than three minutes in the lead when he crossed the finish line. In July 1972, aged 16, he won the National Junior Road Championships at Banbridge, County Down.
Kelly won the National Junior Road Championships again in 1973. He took a senior cycling license in 1974, passing up the opportunity to bid for a third consecutive National Junior Road title. In 1974, aged only 17, two months short of his eighteenth birthday, Kelly won the Shay Elliott Memorial Race. That season he participated in the Tour of Ireland and the Tour of Scotland and achieved ten victories as a senior competitor while still eligible to race as a junior. In 1975, Kelly successfully defended his title, winning the Shay Elliott Memorial Race for the second time. He won three stages of the 1975 Tour of Ireland and the mountains jersey. Kelly won stage 7 of the 1975 Tour of Britain, beating Swede Bernt Johansson and Polish rider Jan Trybala in a three-way sprint. Johansson became Olympic Road Race Champion in Montreal a year later. Kelly's exploits at the 1975 Tour of Britain caught the eye of a Londoner, John Morris, who had connections with amateur Velo Club Metz in Metz, France. Morris informed Metz of Kelly's potential. In August 1975, Alain Steinhoff, a member of the Metz club, travelled to the World Championships in Belgium, where Kelly was competing in the amateur road race. Steinhoff offered Kelly a place on the amateur team V. C Metz-Woippy. Kelly assured Steinhoff that he would consider the offer and promised to contact the club sometime during the following winter. Club Metz heard nothing from Kelly during the winter because his focus of attention shifted to competing in the Rapport Toer stage race in South Africa as preparation for the 1976 Olympic Games.
In late September 1975, Kelly and two other Irish riders, Pat and Kieron McQuaid went to South Africa to participate in the Rapport Toer stage race in preparation for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. Because of an international ban on athletes competing in South Africa, as a consequence of a protest against apartheid, the three Irish cyclists and two Scottish, John Curran and Henry Wilbraham, competed as a British team under false names. The squad were called "Mum for Men" and managed by Tommy Shardelow. When the Irish Cycling Federation received news of their escapades in South Africa, Kelly and the McQuaids incurred a seven-month suspension from racing, reduced after an appeal to six months. Kelly and the McQuaids returned to competitive racing at the end of April 1976.
After resuming racing, Kelly won the Tour of the North in Ulster, Ireland and the Cinturón a Mallorca in Mallorca, Spain. He also won one stage at the 1976 Tour of Britain and one at the 1976 Tour of Ireland. On 29 May 1976, Kelly, Pat and Kieron McQuaid, as a consequence of their participation in the Rapport Toer in South Africa, were barred from the 1976 Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee. It's misinformation that the ban from the Olympics was for life.
With the dream of competing at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal now shattered, Kelly suddenly required an alternative plan for the rest of the summer to fill the gut-wrenching void. He cast his mind back to Velo Club Metz's interest in August 1975 and penned a short letter to them asking what they could offer. He received a swift reply, offering free accommodation, £25 per week and free replacements for cycling equipment impaired during races. Kelly accepted the proposition and travelled to Metz in mid-June 1976. 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. During the five months he spent with Velo Club Metz, Kelly was victorious in eighteen of the twenty-five races he started, including his most prestigious win, the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia in Italy.
Kelly's time with Velo Club Metz proved lucrative as he returned home to Ireland £800 richer. The money earned made cycling with Metz worthwhile. He told club officials he would return to V.C Metz-Woippy for the 1977 season. Not long after returning home, Kelly contacted Pat McQuaid, asking if he'd be interested in going to Metz with him. McQuaid immediately agreed to go. In early November 1976, Velo Club Metz flew Kelly and McQuaid to London. Metz sent a delegate to meet them there. With the assistance of the club representative and Londoner John Morris, proposals were accepted, which would cover the two Irish amateurs in Metz for the 1977 season. The bonus scheme offered was substantially better than what Kelly had acquired in his first season with Metz.
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 Douçot. Douçot, a former amateur cyclist, was a mechanic and talent scout in eastern France. Jean-Pierre informed Jean de Gribaldy, a directeur sportif from Besançon who was putting together a French squad for the Belgian professional team, , of Kelly's potential. Later, Kelly's win at the end of the season on 2 October 1976 in the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia left an indelible impression, which convinced de Gribaldy to act upon Douçot's earlier recommendation.
On 9 December 1976, a private jet was flown from Dole Airport, near Besançon and landed at Dublin Airport. Onboard was directeur sportif Jean de Gribaldy, pilot Bernard Dagot and a youthful French amateur cyclist, Noël Converset. Dagot, Chief Air Traffic Controller at Dole Airport, spoke fluent English and his language skills earned him the role of interpreter. Converset, Kelly's teammate at Metz, was taken to Ireland to identify Kelly and assist in the recruitment process. The three Frenchmen hired a taxi in Dublin to take them to Carrick-on-Suir. Upon arrival in Carrick-on-Suir, they were given directions to Kelly's home in rural Curraghduff. Arriving unexpectedly, Jack and Nellie Kelly greeted them. Sean, who wasn't at home, was out driving a tractor. The trio decided to drive out the Dungarvan road in the hope that they would discover Kelly on his trip back home in the tractor. Soon they encountered a tractor, driven by a young man, travelling towards them. De Gribaldy asked Converset, "Is that Kelly?" to which the uncertain Converset hesitantly answered. De Gribaldy ordered the driver to bring the taxi to a halt. Dagot emerged from the taxi hailing the tractor and asked the driver, "Are you Sean Kelly?" to which the response was, "Yes, I am Sean Kelly." Both parties agreed to go to Kelly's home in Curraghduff for negotiations. De Gribaldy offered Kelly an annual salary of £4000, which Kelly declined. Kelly consulted Pat McQuaid and Ireland's cycling team manager John Lackey for advice. A week later, de Gribaldy telephoned Kelly, at home in Ireland from Besançon. Kelly successfully negotiated a deal, asking for £6000 in the process, which Gribaldy agreed to. Kelly now had a professional contract with Flandria. Pat's brother Oliver replaced Kelly at Velo Club Metz.
Kelly travelled to France in late January 1977 and lived for two years at 18, Place de la Révolution (formerly, Place du Marché) in Besançon, de Gribaldy's home town. The apartment was above a bike shop owned by de Gribaldy. He shared with four teammates, Noël Converset, Marcel Tinazzi, René Bittinger and Dominique Sanders.
Professional career Early years Flandria were a Belgian cycling team sponsored by a Belgian company Flandria, which manufactured bicycles, mopeds and scooters. Guillaume Driessens was the directeur sportif of the Flandria team, one of the world's best, with riders such as Freddy Maertens, Marc Demeyer and Michel Pollentier among their ranks. 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. The French squad competed predominantly in smaller French races. The Belgian team based in Belgium contained the strongest and most experienced riders. Good performances meant promotion from de Gribaldy's French squad to the Belgian team.