Star Rider Interview: Sean Kelly was the ‘King of the Classics’ for a few years, however the man from Carrick-on-Suir additionally received the Vuelta a España and plenty of shorter stage races. His report at Liège-Bastogne-Liège is barely overwhelmed by Argentin and Merckx. Ed Hood caught up with the Irishman for his ideas on the ‘Outdated Girl’ of the highway.
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In January we misplaced our pal and colleague Ed Hood, two years after his devastating stroke. We’ll always remember Ed and his data, connections within the biking world, his writing model and love for the game. Ed wrote hundreds of beautiful articles for PEZ, so we can pay homage the ‘King of the Blackberry’ with re-runs of his nice work.
And a giant thanks to everybody who contributed to Ed’s ‘Go Fund Me’. It made a distinction to his final two years.
You may learn the PEZ-Crew’s reminiscences of Ed Hood HERE
Sean Kelly on the wheel of Phil Anderson on the highway to Liège
Sean Kelly’s stats for Liège learn like this: 1979, twentieth: 1981, eleventh: 1982, tenth: 1984, 1st: 1985, 4th: 1986, twelfth: 1987, twentieth; 1988, fifth: 1989, 1st – With palmarès like that, Kelly is the person to speak to in regards to the oldest, and plenty of would say the toughest of the ‘monuments’.
PEZ: What makes Liège-Bastogne-Liège so particular, Sean?
Sean Kelly: It’s a clear race and it goes by good countryside, there are not any cobbles and dust; not like Flanders and Roubaix the place a few of the parcours are fairly horrible. Flanders and Roubaix are nice races however they’re working fights too, in Flanders you must combat to be within the entrance for the climbs and in Roubaix you must combat to be first to the stones. Liège is far more of a wearing-down course of, there’s a relentless, sluggish elimination by the again door because the weak quietly slip away because the race goes on and on. One other factor about it’s that there tends to be fewer crashes, so it’s a bit safer than Flanders or Roubaix.
Two wins in Roubaix wasn’t too unhealthy both
PEZ: Was the course a lot the identical within the 80s as it’s now?
Just about so, however the massive distinction is within the finalé, it’s a really troublesome previous few kilometres now.
Kelly had a couple of crashes in his time, but it surely needed to be very unhealthy to cease him
PEZ: What does it take win at Liege?
A winner has to have the ability to recover from the climbs a technique or one other; a few of the drags go on for possibly six or seven kilometres. In case you examine the race-winners you’ll discover that there are numerous climbers who’ve received it but in addition numerous males who acquired over the climbs on their energy. In case you take a look at Moreno Argentin (Italy) who received it 4 occasions; he wasn’t an important climber in my e book, he by no means received an vital stage race for instance, however he was very sturdy and acquired over the climbs on his energy.
Kelly with Anderson once more together with Pedro Delgado
PEZ: You received twice, in ’84 and ’89, which was hardest?
They had been each exhausting in their very own manner. In ’84 it was in a dash from a giant group; you possibly can by no means ensure in a bunch dash scenario. In ’89 it was from a gaggle of 4, Philipot (France and Toshiba), Delgado (Spain and Reynolds) and Phil Anderson (Australia and TVM) – the survivors of the bunch had been getting very shut, I used to be getting nervous that they might catch us, we by no means had a giant hole and in case you’ve been away for 50 kilometres, working exhausting in a break after which get caught late within the race it’s very troublesome to then win a dash. (The bunch, the truth is, caught the break proper on the road, however the escapees held-on to get the primary 4 placings.)
Sean on the wheel of Criquielion, Lemond following in 1990
PEZ: Who had been the fellows to beat?
Phil Anderson was in superb kind on each these events – he was second in ’84 and third in ’89, however there was additionally Fignon, Criquielion, Delgado – all good, sturdy riders.
Anderson (TVM) Delgado (Reynolds), Philipot (Toshiba) and Kelly (PDM)
PEZ: The La Redoute climb doesn’t appear to be as influential within the race, now?
In my day it was the final massive climb, there was possibly one smaller climb after it however after that it was a quick run-in to the end in Liege. Now it winds up within the Liege suburb of Ans, on the prime of an extended exhausting climb. If a break went within the 80’s it was exhausting to get them again as a result of the run-in was so quick, however now a break has to outlive that robust finale and it’s a lot tougher to hold-off chasers; so La Redoute isn’t fairly so vital.
No ‘specialisation’ from Kelly – Robust all season by
PEZ: What do you concentrate on ‘specialisation’ amongst classics riders, in your day you simply rode the whole lot, didn’t you?
When Greg Lemond first began racing he rode a full program, the truth is he was third to me at Liege in ’84 however as his profession progressed he started to specialise within the Tour, driving fewer and fewer different race – after all Indurain and Armstrong continued the pattern. The classics guys adopted swimsuit later and now you’ve gotten ‘cobble specialists’ and ‘Ardennes specialists’ – in case you can get-away with it, why not?
Surrounded by the celebrities: Jan Raas, Sean Kelly and Bernard Hinault
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