But before the Spanish races, the Classics beckoned.
Concern was academic: the Irishman had broad enough shoulders for the responsibility. Kelly was the only rider who could be entrusted with leadership at such vital, sponsor-pleasing races. The Classics are always in cold weather and the Belgians only drink beer, not soft drinks.'" "I remember the big boss, Luis Knorr, saying to me: 'Tour of Spain, Tour of the Basque Country, Catalonia – if you can win those races, I'm happy. Kas, a Spanish soft-drink producer, replaced Skil as the main sponsor of Kelly's team in 1986, and they saw Kelly's exploits in the Classics almost as extracurricular, because what really mattered to them was the Spanish season. The problem was… Well, De Gribaldy was one problem, and the other problem was Kas." There was this new idea that you focus on the Classics and then you have a break, and of course that's the way to do it. "In hindsight, other riders were doing it differently. If you're really flying, you can handle that, but if you're not really in super shape, you can pay the price. "There were things like going to Pays Basque and coming back for Roubaix. "It's only when you look back towards the end of your career, and more so afterwards, that you look at the programme you were doing and it was totally crazy," he says. Kelly knew he was spreading himself thin but at the time it wasn't a concern. If you listen to them saying you're going to be tired because you're racing too much, you're going to get tired mentally." "If you're not racing you've got to train, so why not just race?" was a favourite homily of De Gribaldy.
#Ferdi van den haute classic pro#
The Yellow Armada: How ONCE shook up pro cycling Restless Roglič: The world's number-one rider wants more The Frenchman, known as Le Vicomte – The Viscount – discovered Kelly in the late 70s and he helped turn the Irishman into one of the riders who defined the 1980s.
"I think Sean was part of the new generation but living, working and racing like the old generation."Īs Kelly recalls, the "totally crazy" schedule was down to his manager, the infamous aviator-shades-wearing Jean De Gribaldy.
"He was one of the last riders like Eddy Merckx, who rode from the first to the last race with the aim of winning," the Belgian told Procycling. Kelly's contemporary, Eric Vanderaerden, who emerged as a key rival thanks to his feisty sprint at the end of hard races, viewed the Irishman as a throwback to the 60s and 70s. By Paris-Roubaix, the Irishman had raced at least 34 times – 10 more than Degenkolb to the same point last year. He was 29 in the spring of 1986, and engaged in an eye-watering schedule that even by the race-heavy standards of the time was crammed. "I was going well that year," Kelly tells us, ever the master of understatement. In order to win both in 1986, Sean Kelly had to be an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Meanwhile, Roubaix is the last word in suffering and survival. La Primavera is by reputation the easiest to finish and the hardest to win because it offers so many tactical permutations. More than that, it's down to the races' different demands. Rarity is one aspect of that, and John Degenkolb became only the third rider to achieve it last year. The combination of San Remo and Roubaix in the same year has a particular shine.
0 kommentar(er)
