Webreflinks - Sean Kelly (cyclist)

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WebCite www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2000/jan/09/sean-kellys-positive-tests/

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 ==Doping==
-Kelly tested positive twice during his career.<ref>http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2000/jan/09/sean-kellys-positive-tests/</ref> He failed tests after [[Paris–Brussels]] in 1984 and the Tour of the Basque Country in 1988.
+Kelly tested positive twice during his career.<ref>[http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2000/jan/09/sean-kellys-positive-tests/ ]{{dead link|date=June 2013}}</ref> He failed tests after [[Paris–Brussels]] in 1984 and the Tour of the Basque Country in 1988.
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 | style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Jersey yellow.svg|20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=Yellow jersey]] '''[[Tour de France|Tour]]'''
-|align="center" |[[1978 Tour de France|34]]
+| style="text-align:center;"|[[1978 Tour de France|34]]
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{{Infobox cyclist
| name = Sean Kelly
| image = Sean Kelly, Tour de France 2009.jpg
| caption = Kelly in 2009
| fullname = John James Kelly
| nickname = Sean
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1956|5|24}}
| birth_place = [[Waterford]], Ireland
| 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 = '''[[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tours]]'''
:'''[[Tour de France]]''':
::[[Points classification in the Tour de France|Points classification]] ([[1982 Tour de France|1982]], [[1983 Tour de France|1983]], [[1985 Tour de France|1985]], [[1989 Tour de France|1989]])
::[[Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France|Intermediate sprints classification]] (1982, 1983, 1989)
::5 Stages
:'''[[Vuelta a España]]'''
::[[General classification in the Vuelta a España|General Classification]] ([[1988 Vuelta a España|1988]])
::[[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|Points classification]] ([[1980 Vuelta a España|1980]], [[1985 Vuelta a España|1985]], [[1986 Vuelta a España|1986]], 1988)
::16 Stages
'''[[Race stage|Stage races]]'''
:[[Paris–Nice]]
::General classification (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
:[[Tour de Suisse]]
::General classification (1983, 1990)
:[[Tour of the Basque Country]]
::General classification (1984, 1986, 1987)
:[[Volta a Catalunya]]
::General classification (1984, 1986)
'''[[Classic cycle races|One-day races and Classics]]''' 
:[[UCI Road World Cup]]: (1989)
:[[Milan – San Remo]]: (1986, 1992)
:[[Paris–Roubaix]]: (1984, 1986)
:[[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]: (1984, 1989)
:[[Giro di Lombardia]]: (1983, 1985, 1991)
:[[Critérium International]]: (1983, 1984, 1987)
:[[Gent–Wevelgem]]: 1988 
| updated = 15 April 2009
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{IRL}}}}
{{MedalSport| [[Road bicycle racing]]}}
{{MedalCompetition| World Championships}}
{{MedalBronze |[[UCI Road World Championships, Men|1982 Goodwood]]|Elite Men's Road Race}}
{{MedalBronze |[[UCI Road World Championships, Men|1989 Chambéry]]|Elite Men's Road Race}}
}}

'''John James 'Sean' Kelly''' (born 24 May 1956)<ref name="Walsh, David 1986 p29">Walsh, David (1986), Kelly, Harrap, UK, ISBN 0-245-54331-7, p29</ref> is an [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] former professional [[road bicycle racer]]. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest [[Classic cycle races|classics]] riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193 professional races in total. He won [[Paris–Nice]] seven years in a row and the first [[UCI Road World Cup]] in 1989. He won the 1988 [[Vuelta a España]] and had multiple wins in the [[Giro di Lombardia]], [[Milan – San Remo]], [[Paris–Roubaix]] and [[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]. Other victories include the [[Critérium International]], [[Grand Prix des Nations]] and smaller tours including the [[Tour de Suisse]], [[Tour of the Basque Country]] and [[Volta a Catalunya]].

Kelly twice won bronze medals (1982, 1989) in the [[UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|World Road Race Championships]] and finished 5th in 1987, the year compatriot [[Stephen Roche]] won gold. Kelly was first to be ranked No.1 when the FICP rankings were introduced in March 1984, a position he held for a record six years. In the 1984 season, Kelly achieved 33 victories.

==Early life==
Kelly is the second son of Jack (John) and Nellie Kelly, farmers in [[Curraghduff]] in 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 then, to avoid confusion at home, referred to as Sean.<ref name="Walsh, David 1986 p29"/> Seán is the [[Irish language|Irish]] form of John.

For eight years he attended Crehana National School, County [[Waterford]] to which he travelled with his older brother, Joe. Fellow pupils recall a boy who retreated into silence because, they thought, he felt intellectually outclassed.<ref>Walsh, David (1986), Kelly, Harrap, UK, ISBN 0-245-54331-7, p30</ref> His education ended at 13 when he left school to help on the farm after his father went to hospital in Waterford with an ulcer. At 16 he began work as a bricklayer.

Kelly began cycling after his brother had started riding to school in September 1969. Joe rode and won local races and on 4 August 1970 Sean rode his own first race, at Kennedy Terrace in Carrickbeg, County Waterford, part of [[Carrick-on-Suir]]. The race was an eight-mile (13&nbsp;km) handicap, which meant the weaker riders started first and the best last. Kelly set off three minutes before the backmarkers. He was still three minutes ahead when the course turned for home after four miles (6&nbsp;km) and more than three minutes in the lead when he crossed the line.

At 16 he won the national junior championship at [[Banbridge]], [[County Down]].

==Amateur career and Olympic ban==
Kelly won the national championship again in 1973, then took a senior licence before the normal qualifying age of 18 and won the [[Shay Elliott Memorial Race|Shay Elliot Memorial race]] in 1974 and again in 1975 and stages in the Tour of Ireland of 1975.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Kelly and two other Irish riders, [[Pat McQuaid|Pat]] and Kieron McQuaid, went to South Africa to ride the Rapport Tour stage-race in preparation for the [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Olympic Games]]. They and others rode under false names<ref>J. Burns, G. Main, D. Nixon, P. Nugent and A.Owen</ref> because of an international ban on athletes competing in South Africa, as a protest against [[apartheid]].

The Irish were suspended from racing for six months. They were racing again when the [[International Olympic Committee]] banned them from the Olympics for life.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/interviews/?id=pat_mcquaid05a |title=An interview with Pat McQuaid by Shane Stokes |publisher=Cyclingnews |accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref>

Unable to ride in Canada, Kelly rode the 1976 [[Tour of Britain]] and then went to [[Metz]], in France, after a London enthusiast, Johnny Morris, had arranged an invitation. The club offered him £25 a week, free accommodation and four francs a kilometre for every race he won. Kelly won 18 of the 25 races he started in France and won the amateur Giro di Lombardia in Italy. That impressed two French team managers, [[Jean de Gribaldy]] and [[Cyrille Guimard]]. De Gribaldy went to Ireland unannounced to discuss a contract with the Flandria professional team.<ref>{{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}}</ref> He didn't know where Kelly lived and wasn't sure he would recognise him. He took with him another cyclist, to point out Kelly and translate the conversation. Kelly was out driving a tractor and de Gribaldy set out again in the taxi that had brought him from Dublin, hoping to find Kelly as he drove home. They found him and went to Kelly's stepbrother's house. De Gribaldy offered £4,000 a year plus bonuses. A week later Kelly asked for £6,000 and got it. He signed for de Gribaldy with misgivings about going back on his promise to return to Metz, where the club had offered him better terms than before.<ref>Walsh, David (1986), Kelly, Harrap, London, ISBN 0-245-54331-7, p66</ref>

Kelly left for France in January 1977 and lived for two years at 18 place de la Révolution in Besançon, de Gribaldy's home town. He shared with four team-mates.

==Professional career==
Kelly's first professional race was the Étoile de Bessèges. It started on 7 February 1977 and lasted six days. Kelly came 10th on the first day. 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. Kelly rode with the second section, based more in France because Flandria wanted to sell more of its mopeds, scooters and bicycles there. The strongest riders in both camps came together for big races. Kelly was recruited as a [[domestique]] for Maertens in the main team for year's Paris–Nice - shortly afterwards he won his first race, the opening stage of the Tour of Romandy - and stayed in it for the Tour de France, in which he also won a stage.

Kelly stayed with de Gribaldy for 1977 and 1978. Then in 1978 [[Michel Pollentier]] was disqualified from the Tour de France after cheating a drugs test on the afternoon that he took the race lead. He left the team at the end of the season and started his own, with a new backer, Splendor. Both Maertens and Pollentier wanted Kelly. Pollentier and Splendor offered Kelly more and made him a team leader.<ref>Kelly and Pollentier often shared hotel rooms. The consequence was that Kelly's Dutch improved and Pollentier began to speak English with an Irish accent.</ref> But Splendor was new and logistic problems became obvious. The bikes were in poor state - enough that Splendor decided not to ride Paris–Roubaix - and the manager, Robert Lauwers, was replaced. Kelly rose above it and rode for himself. The writer [[Robin Magowan]] said: <blockquote>Some people can do business on the committee system; others find that life is only fun when you are running the show. In Kelly's case it was to mean working for the collection of underpaid has-beens that de Gribaldy habitually assembled. But a smaller, less pretentious team can have its advantages for a rider of Kelly's sort. When you don't have to compete for a team's loyalty you can concentrate on winning races, and that's exactly what Kelly proceeded to do.<ref>Magowan, Robert, and Watson, Graham (1987), Kings of the Road, Springfield, UK, ISBN 978-0-947655-20-4, p68</ref></blockquote>

In time the team improved. Kelly received few offers from elsewhere and Splendor matched those he did get. He was paid about £30,000 plus bonuses in his last season. But strengthening the team had included bringing in another sprinter, [[Eddy Planckaert]], and Kelly's role as a foreigner in the team was unclear. He heard that de Gribaldy was starting a new team and the two were reunited in 1982 at [[Sem-France Loire]]. 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 España]].<ref name="base">{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclebase.nl/?lang=nl&news=nl&pc=normal&page=races&db=m&id=1181|title=Vuelta a España|publisher=Cyclebase.nl|accessdate=2007-09-20}}</ref> De Gribaldy employed him as unambiguous team leader, someone he believed could win stage races and not just stages. Kelly won [[Paris–Nice]] and four of its stages. On the last of those, a time-trial to the col d'Eze, he beat [[Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle]] and pushed him out of the lead. That year he also won the [[maillot vert]] (the green jersey of best sprinter) of the [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> He finished third in the world championship in England and at the end of the year married his girlfriend, Linda Grant, the daughter of a local cycling club official. Carrick-on-Suir named the town square "the Sean Kelly Square" in tribute to his achievements in the [[1982 Tour de France]] and his bronze medal at the championship<ref>{{cite book|title=Kelly: A biography |first=David |last=Walsh |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-85688-024-4 |publisher=Springfield Books}}</ref> The following year Kelly again won [[Paris–Nice]] and then the [[Critérium International]] and the [[Tour de Suisse]] as well as the ''maillot vert'' of the [[Tour de France]] the second time in a row.

==Height of professional career==
Kelly confirmed his potential in autumn 1983. A leading group of 18 entered [[Como]] in the Giro di Lombardia after a battle over the Intelvi and Schignano passes. Kelly won the sprint 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.

Kelly dominated the following spring. He won [[Paris–Nice]] for the third successive time beating Roche as well as the Tour de France winner, [[Bernard Hinault]] <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/stageraces/ParisNice/parisnice.html|title= Paris-Nice history and results |publisher=bikeracerinfo.com |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071008002530/http://bikeraceinfo.com/stageraces/ParisNice/parisnice.html  |archivedate = 2007-10-08}}</ref> who was returning after a knee injury. Kelly finished second in Milan – San Remo and the [[Tour of Flanders]], but was unbeatable in [[Paris–Roubaix]] and [[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]. The day after [[Paris–Roubaix]], the French daily sports paper, [[L'Équipe]], pictured Kelly cycling the cobbles with mud on his face and had the heading ''Insatiable Kelly!'' referring to his appetite for winning that spring <ref>L'Équipe p1 April 16, 1984</ref> He won all three stages in the Critérium International: the bunch sprint on stage 1, a solo victory in the mountain stage and beating Roche in the final [[time trial]]. Kelly achieved 33 victories in 1984. He was becoming a contender in the grands tours, as seen by finishing fifth 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 it as the Tour was finishing on the [[Champs-Élysées]] but lost it in the bunch finish to the Belgian, [[Frank Hoste]], who finished ahead of Kelly gaining points to take the jersey off Kelly's shoulders.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

He won [[Paris–Nice]] in 1985, again beating Roche. He won the ''maillot vert'' for the third time and finished fourth in the 1985 Tour de France.  Kelly won the first [[Nissan International Classic]] beating Van Der Poel. At the end of the season, he won the Giro di Lombardia.

He won Milan – San Remo in 1986 after winning [[Paris–Nice]]. He finished second in the Tour of Flanders and won Paris–Roubaix again. He finished on a podium in a grand tour for the first time when he finished third in the 1986 [[Vuelta a España]].<ref name="base"/> Kelly missed the 1986 Tour de France due to a serious crash in the last stage of Tour de Suisse. He returned to Ireland and won the [[Nissan Classic]] again. His second win in the Nissan came after a duel with [[Steve Bauer]], who took the [[yellow jersey]] after Kelly crashed numerous times. Kelly went into the final stage three seconds behind Bauer and took the jersey when he finished third on the stage and won bonus seconds.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Kelly won [[Paris–Nice]] in 1987 on the last day after Roche, the leader, punctured. Later, leading the Vuelta a España with three days to go, he retired with an infection. His bad luck continued in the Tour de France, retiring after a crash tore ligaments in his shoulder. After the [[1987 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|World Championship]], in which he finished fifth behind Roche, Kelly returned to Ireland to win the Nissan for the third consecutive time.

Kelly won his seventh Paris–Nice in spring 1988, a record. He won [[Gent–Wevelgem]] several weeks later. He returned in April to the [[1988 Vuelta a España]]. He stayed two minutes behind the leader, [[Laudelino Cubino]], during the first two weeks then finished fourth behind Parra and Anselmo Fuerte on stage 13 (won by [[Fabio Parra]]), cutting a minute and a half into Cubino's lead.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16184|title=Sports news | work=The Irish Emigrant | date=May 8, 1988 | issue=68 |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927004559/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16184  |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref> From this stage, Fuerte had moved into second overall and later took the jersey from Cubino on the 16th stage.<ref>{{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}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Kelly maintained the gap between himself and Fuerte and started the [[time trial]] on the second last day 21 seconds behind. He won and took the leader's amarillo jersey. The following day Kelly won his only grand tour, over West German [[Raimund Dietzen]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16185|work= The Irish Emigrant | date=May 15, 1988 | issue=67 | title=Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927005028/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16185  |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref> He also won the points competition.<ref>{{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}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> After his Vuelta win Kelly returned to Carrick-on-Suir where a parade was held in his honour.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16186|work=The Irish Emigrant | date=May 22, 1988 | issue=68 | title=Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927004929/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=16186  |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref>

Kelly finished 46th in the [[Tour de France]], just over an hour behind [[Pedro Delgado]]. He was no longer a contender for overall victory after this and said he'd never win the [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=17047|title= The Irish Emigrant July 24, 1988 issue no. 76 Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927005050/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=17047  |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref> Kelly finished third behind the German, Rolf Gölz, in the Nissan Classic that year
Kelly finished third in the sprint at the rainy world road championship of 1989 at Chambéry, France, behind Dimitri Konyshev and Greg Lemond. Lemond won his second rainbow jersey as world champion.

Kelly switched to the Dutch [[PDM (cycling team)|PDM team]] and stayed there three years until the end of 1991. The following year he won Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the ''maillot vert'' in the Tour de France, and the inaugural [[UCI Road World Cup]] championship.
Kelly won the [[Tour de Suisse]] in 1990. In March 1991, he broke a collarbone,<ref>{{cite news|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 | first=Frank | last=Litsky | date=1991-05-10}}</ref> then pulled out of the [[1991 Tour de France]]<ref>{{cite news|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 | first=Samuel | last=Abt | date=1991-07-17}}</ref> and then while Kelly was competing the Tour of Galicia in August, his brother Joe was killed in a race near [[Carrick-on-Suir]].<ref>{{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 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071124080210/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=58486  |archivedate = 2007-11-24}}</ref> He came back to win his fourth Nissan Classic by four seconds over [[Sean Yates]]<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=59800|work= The Irish Emigrant | date=September 30, 1991 | issue=243 | title=Sports news |accessdate=2007-06-11 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927004802/http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=200&iArticleID=59800  |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref> and then went to and won the classic at the end of the season, the [[Giro di Lombardia]].

==Twilight of his career==
Kelly won the Giro di Lombardia for a third time in 1991 but started 1992 regarded as past his prime. He moved to [[Festina cycling team|Festina]] and prepared for Milan – San Remo. Race favourite [[Moreno Argentin]] attacked from the leading group on the final climb, the [[Poggio di Sanremo|Poggio]]. He broke clear after several attempts and reached the top eight seconds before the rest. It seemed he was on his way to a solo victory as the peloton descended the Poggio, where [[Maurizio Fondriest]] led, marked by Argentin's team-mate [[Rolf Sørensen]]. Kelly was behind these two in third position . Kelly attacked with three kilometres of descending left. Sorensen could not hold his acceleration and Kelly got away. He caught Argentin with a kilometre to go. Both stalled, the chasers closing fast, Argentin gesturing to Kelly to take the front. Kelly stayed on Argentin's wheel. The two moved again, preparing for a sprint; Kelly launched himself and in the final 200m came past Argentin to win his final classic.

In 1992, Kelly travelled to [[Colombia]] for the [[Clásico RCN]], where he won the second stage.<ref>{{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}}</ref> His PDM team-mate, [[Martin Earley]], pushed him into second place at the 1993 [[Irish National Cycling Championships|Irish road championship]].
 
Kelly's last year as a professional was 1994, when he rode for Catavana. He returned to Carrick-on-Suir at the end of the season to ride the annual Hamper race. That 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]] and [[Paul Kimmage]] were among 1,200 cyclists present.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/dec01/dec13news3.php |title=Cyclingnews December 13, 2001 Hamper Race |publisher=Cyclingnews |accessdate=2007-07-04}}</ref> The [[President of Ireland]], [[Mary Robinson]], attended a civic presentation to Kelly the day before the race. Kelly won in a sprint against Roche. Kelly won this race again six years later.

==Doping==
Kelly tested positive twice during his career.<ref>[http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2000/jan/09/sean-kellys-positive-tests/ ]{{dead link|date=June 2013}}</ref> He failed tests after [[Paris–Brussels]] in 1984 and the Tour of the Basque Country in 1988.

[[Willy Voet]], a central figure in a doping scandal in the [[1998 Tour de France]] and whom Kelly had known for some years and who was Kelly's team [[soigneur]], said in his biography that Kelly had been caught for the wrong drug after Paris-Brussels. He said: 
:"Ten days before Paris-Brussels 1984, a race made for him but one curiously he had never won, Kelly fell ill. Bronchitis. He treated himself with ephedrine for a week, an excellent treatment to unblock the lungs but which could be detected in tests. Sean stopped his treatment three days before the race because even if the tests weren't as frequent as today, it wasn't worth taking the risk. At the end of the race, which he finished third behind Eric Vanderaerden and [[Charly Mottet]], the Irishman was called to a test. In his shorts we hid a small container of urine volunteered by one of the mechanics, and he went through the test without problems. For top riders, as we've seen before, it's always easier.

:"Several days later, Kelly received a letter from the international federation saying he had tested positive after Paris-Brussels. The product? Stimul, based on amphetamine. I asked around and the culprit was soon unmasked: to stay awake at the wheel of his van, the forgetful mechanic had perhaps taken a charge!"<ref>Cycling slang for taking drugs.</ref><ref>Voet, Willy (1999), Massacre à la Chaîne, Calmann-Levy, France, ISBN 2-7021-2977-8, pp121, 122</ref>

Kelly was fined 1,000 Swiss francs and suspended for a month.<ref>Walsh, David (1986), Kelly, Harrap, UK, ISBN 0245543317, p173</ref>

Voet wrote that Kelly took drugs regularly, including the day in 1983 that he won his only yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Kelly has never commented on the claims.<ref>Sunday Tribune, Ireland, 9 January 2000, http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2000/jan/09/sean-kellys-positive-tests/</ref> He blamed the positive test for [[codeine]] in the Tour of the Basque Country on cough medicine.

==Assessment==
Kelly's career is remarkable in that it spanned the eras of several legends of the [[Tour de France]], from [[Eddy Merckx]] through to [[Miguel Indurain]]. His first Tour was also the first for [[Bernard Hinault]] and the two battled in the sprint of stage 15. [[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 Indurain]] and the early career of [[Lance Armstrong]]. Kelly's career coincided with [[Stephen Roche]] as well as classics specialists including [[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 (predecessor to the World Cup). Kelly competed throughout the season, from Paris–Nice in March to the Giro di Lombardia in October, winning both in 1983 and 1985.

Robin Magowan said:

:"It is customary to talk of Kelly as quintessentially an Irish rider. For my part, though, I think it helps to place Kelly better as a cyclist to see him as the last of the Flemish riders.<ref>Kelly spent much of his life on the continent living in Belgium.</ref> This is usually a title associated with the post-war rider, [[Briek Schotte]] who has become appropriately enough the man in day-to-day charge of the de Gribaldy teams. As exemplified by Schotte it stood for a certain type of mentality, willing to suffer, narrowly focussed, and hard, hard, hard. Kelly had all this in him from his Irish small-farm background: the outside loo;<ref>British dialect word for a lavatory.</ref> the dogs that have to be chained before you can step from your car; the one career possible, as a bricklayer on a construction site, stretching away and away into the grey mists. On the positive side, along with the self-reliance, came a physical strength that even by peasant standards is impressive. In a profession of iron wills, there is no one harder."<ref>Magowan, Robin, and Watson, Graham (1988), Knights of the Road, Springfield, UK, ISBN 978-0-947655-20-4pp70-71</ref>

Kelly is the subject of several books, including a biography ''Kelly'' and ''A Man For All Seasons'' by [[David Walsh (sports reporter)|David Walsh]].

===Riding technique===
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 España]] in 1988. His victories in [[Paris–Roubaix]] (1984, 1986) showed his ability in poor weather and on pavé sections, while he could stay with the [[climbing specialist]]s in the mountains in the [[Tour de France]]. He was also a formidable descender, clocking a career top race speed of 124&nbsp;km/h, while descending from [[Col de Joux Plane]] to Morzine on stage 19 of the Tour in [[1984 Tour de France|1984]].<ref>Kelly recounted these facts while commentating for Eurosport on stage 17 of the Tour [[2010 Tour de France|2010]]</ref> He finished fourth in the Tour in 1985 and won the [[maillot vert]] in [[1982 Tour de France|1982]], [[1983 Tour de France|1983]], [[1985 Tour de France|1985]], and [[1989 Tour de France|1989]], the first to win four times, a feat he repeated in the Vuelta a España. Kelly won five stages in the Tour de France and 16 in the [[Vuelta a España]].

==Post-cycling career==
Kelly is a commentator for the English-language services of [[Eurosport]] and has established and is involved in the Sean Kelly Cycling Academy in Belgium. In 2006 he launched Ireland's first professional team, the [[Sean Kelly Team]], composed of young Irish and Belgian riders based at the Sean Kelly Cycling Academy in Merchtem, Belgium.<ref>Procycling, UK, March 2006</ref> He rides long-distance charity cycling tours with Blazing Saddles, a charity raising money for the blind and partially sighted. Such tours have included a journey across America by bike in 2000. He also participates in charity cycling endurance events in Scotland (notably with the Braveheart Cycling Fund), England, France and Ireland. Sean Kelly regularly cycles with [http://www.sportactive.net/ SportActive] cycling holidays in Mallorca.

The inaugural Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford was held on 19 August 2007.<ref>
{{cite web
 | title = Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford
 | url = http://www.theseankellytour.com/Default.aspx
 | accessdate = 2007-08-20 }}
</ref> 
Kelly was one of the 600 participants. The second was on 24 August 2008. Kelly was one of the 2,048. The 2009 tour went ahead on 30 August 2009. It attracted over 3,400 participants. On 29 August 2010, 3708 cyclists took part in the Tour. In 2011 the attendance ballooned to over 8,000 over the two days and 10&nbsp;km, 50&nbsp;km, 90&nbsp;km and 160&nbsp;km events.

==Personality==
Fellow pupils at Kelly's school [see above] felt Kelly fell silent because he felt intellectually outclassed. The lack of words continued even after Kelly had proved himself one of the best racing cyclists of his era. The writer Robin Magowan said:

:"On the bench, swivelling his body away as you approach, chary of words when not downright hostile, Sean Kelly remains for a journalist the hardest of the great riders to fathom. 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. Yet one has only to look at him joking with [[Stephen Roche]], or know the respect with which he is held by the [[peloton]], to see that he gets along very well without us."<ref>Magowan, Robin, and Watson, Graham (1987), Kings of the Road, Springfield, UK, ISBN 978-0-947655-20-4, p65</ref>

==Major results==
{{Palmares start}}

===Grand Tour record===
*1978 - [[1978 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 34th GC; Stage 6 win
*1979 - [[1979 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 38th GC
*1979 - [[Vuelta a España]]: Stages 1 and 5 wins
*1980 - [[1980 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 29th GC; Stages 19 and 21 wins; 2nd Points class
*1980 - [[1980 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: 4th GC; [[Image:Jersey blue.svg|20px]] [[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|points classification]]; Stages 1, 2, 14, 17 and 19 wins; Sprints class winner
*1981 - [[1981 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 48th GC; Stage 17 win
*1982 - [[1982 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 15th GC; [[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]] [[Points classification in the Tour de France|points classification]]; [[Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France|Intermediate sprints class winner]]; Stage 13 win
*1983 - [[1983 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 7th GC; [[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]] [[Points classification in the Tour de France|points classification]]; [[Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France|Intermediate sprints class winner]]
*1984 - [[1984 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 5th GC; 2nd Points class
*1985 - [[1985 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 4th GC; [[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]][[Points classification in the Tour de France|points classification]];
*1985 - [[1985 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: 9th GC; [[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|points classification]]; Stages 2, 9 and 15 wins
*1986 - [[1986 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: 3rd GC; [[Image:Jersey blue.svg|20px]] [[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|points classification]]; Stages 10 and 13 wins; Mixed class winner
*1987 - [[1987 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: DNF
*1987 - [[1987 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: DNF; Stages 1 and 3 wins; held Gold Leaders Jersey for 4 stages
*1988 - [[1988 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 46th GC; 3rd Points class
*1988 - [[1988 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]: [[Image:Jersey gold.svg|20px]]'''Overall Winner'''; [[Image:Jersey blue.svg|20px]][[Points classification in the Vuelta a España|points classification]]; Stages 11 and 20 wins; Mixed class winner
*1989 - [[1989 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 9th GC; [[Image:Jersey green.svg|20px]][[Points classification in the Tour de France|points classification]];[[Image:Jersey red.svg|20px]] [[Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France|Intermediate sprints classification]]
*1990 - [[1990 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 30th GC
*1991 - [[1991 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: DNF
*1992 - [[1992 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: 43rd GC

==='Monument' classic victories (9)===
*[[Milan – San Remo]] 1986, 1992
*[[Paris–Roubaix]] 1984, 1986
*[[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]] 1984, 1989
*[[Giro di Lombardia]] 1983, 1985, 1991 (also won amateur version in 1976)
*Note: tied 3rd in all-time list of [[Classic cycle races|Monument]] wins

===Other 'classic' victories===
*Blois–Chaville ([[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

===Stage race victories (24)===
*[[Vuelta a España]] (1988)
*[[Paris–Nice]] (1982–1988) (7 consecutive wins, a record)
*[[Tour de Suisse]] (1983, 1990)
*[[Volta a Catalunya]] (1984, 1986)
*[[Tour of the Basque Country]] (1984, 1986, 1987)
*[[Critérium International]] (1983, 1984, 1987)
*[[Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme]] (1988)
*[[Three Days of De Panne]] (1980)
*[[Nissan International Classic]] (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991) (4 wins, a record)

===Series victories (4)===
*{{flagiconUCI}} [[UCI Road World Cup]] Season Champion (1989)
*[[Super Prestige Pernod International]] (1984, 1985, 1986)

===Grand Tour General Classification results timeline===
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#eee;"
!Grand Tour
!1978
!1979
!1980
!1981
!1982
!1983
!1984
!1985
!1986
!1987
!1988
!1989
!1990
!1991
!1992
|-
| style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Jersey pink.svg|20px|link=General classification in the Giro d'Italia|alt=Pink jersey]] '''[[Giro d'Italia|Giro]]'''
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
|-
| style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Jersey yellow.svg|20px|link=General classification in the Tour de France|alt=Yellow jersey]] '''[[Tour de France|Tour]]'''
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1978 Tour de France|34]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1979 Tour de France|38]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1980 Tour de France|29]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1981 Tour de France|48]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1982 Tour de France|15]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1983 Tour de France|7]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1984 Tour de France|5]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1985 Tour de France|4]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1986 Tour de France|-]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1987 Tour de France|WD]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1988 Tour de France|46]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1989 Tour de France|9]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1990 Tour de France|30]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1991 Tour de France|WD]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1992 Tour de France|43]]
|-
| style="text-align:left; background:#efefef;"|[[Image:Jersey gold.svg|20px|link=General classification in the Vuelta a España|alt=golden jersey]] '''[[Vuelta a España|Vuelta]]'''
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1979 Vuelta a España|WD]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1980 Vuelta a España|4]]
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1985 Vuelta a España|9]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1986 Vuelta a España|3]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1987 Vuelta a España|WD]]
|  style="text-align:center; background:gold;"|[[1988 Vuelta a España|1]]
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
| style="text-align:center;"|-
|}

WD = withdrew

==Footnotes==
{{Cleanup-bare URLs|date=February 2012}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[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}}]
*[http://www.theseankellytour.com/ theseankellytour.com]

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box |
 before=[[Hennie Kuiper]] |
 title= Winner of [[Paris–Roubaix]]|
 after=[[Marc Madiot]] |
 years=[[1984 Paris–Roubaix|1984]]}}
{{succession box |
 before=[[Marc Madiot]] |
 title= Winner of [[Paris–Roubaix]]|
 after=[[Eric Vanderaerden]] |
 years=[[1986 Paris–Roubaix|1986]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Persondata
|NAME= Kelly, Sean
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Kelly, John 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=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Sean}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from County Waterford]]
[[Category:Irish cyclists]]
[[Category:Irish Tour de France stage winners]]
[[Category:Tour de France cyclists]]
[[Category:Irish expatriates in Belgium]]
[[Category:Sports commentators]]
[[Category:Vuelta a España winners]]
[[Category:Vuelta a España stage winners]]
[[Category:Cycling announcers]]
[[Category:Tour de Suisse stage winners]]

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