The Stephen Roche Story (A Cycling Triple Champion) including 1987 Tour recap with Phil Liggett

The Stephen Roche Story – Bromley Video documentary with narration by Phil Liggett. Includes a recap of the 1987 Tour de France. See link below.

00:00 Part 1 – The Stephen Roche Story
1:44:31 Part 2 – Recap of the 1987 Tour de France

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Executive Producer: David Bromley
Script and Narration: Phil Liggett
Interview: Jimmy McGee
Music: Simon Painter/Ian Clarke/DIVA
Programme Stills: Graham Watson/Cycling Weekly/PhotoSport Intl.

Note: This video was created by Bromley Video. I do not own this content.

Can I say hello? Hello. [Music] [Applause] like to leave a mark like like I have something I think that a lot of fellas would like like to have in cycling. So I’d like to leave a mark if I can. And he most certainly did that winning the tour to France in 1987. But for the Irishman, how did it all begin? It began a long long time ago now. I prefer not to count the years because it’s um feels so long, but saying that has gone just so fast like it’s um at the moment I’m riding the bike a little bit for for for pleasure and for fun. I started cycling in about 1972 when I was 13 and um I just rode basically school by races and then uh graduate then onto junior race when I was when I was 18. But um I possibly became aware of the actual the the involvement that there was in the in the world um of cycling when I was about 18 I suppose possibly because the fact that um Sean Kelly was at that time just gone professional and we got more feedback from Europe. I think at first time I heard of Merricks was about in 7475 when he came to the stage of the tour of to France in Britain. Roach was born to be a cyclist. Bicycles were a part of his upbringing in Dublin. The always chirpy youngster who was certainly no angel according to his mother Bunny was a confident rider joining the Orwell Wheelers at 13. It would lead him to the very top of the sporting tree which would include a world title and a tour to France winners yellow jersey. Say hello. In 1979, Ireland’s Health Race, better known as the Ras Tailshin, felt the full force of a 19-year-old Roach, winning the stage here into Westport before going on to win the race itself. This was his final year as an Ireland amateur. He said he wasn’t a very good rider in his amateur days because of work when he often helped his father Larry deliver milk before racing. He also blamed poor riding tactics, which often saw him doing the hard work in a race, but losing out in the sprint finish. Yet he piled up the trophies and was a regular on the Irish national team. With the Olympics a year away, it was a good year to win the RAS. And as usual, the race was run off in a happy atmosphere. Roach was no less cocky because he was an amateur. He knew he would win the race in 1979. Time by time though. Who would you worry about with this group? No one. I think I’m actually to this day still the youngest rider to have won it. I think I was 19 and actually when I won it. So um I have great memories of it also because I was uh once again actually people just kind of taking it a little bit out of chunk out of my career going up to 87 the tour of Italy I came across a teammate in the tour of Italy Ventini who I had problems with. Whereas in seven nine in the tour of Ireland in the Ross Talton, I had tr with my own teammate Alan McCormack who was actually a very top star at the time and uh he was very very good at the time, very good top Irish international and he wanted to win the Ross Halton and I had to kind of he’s on my team as well. So he was possibly my my worst enemy. So um I had a little bit of trouble there but I I I came out on top. Rose had other problems too like this puncture. He would have plenty more during his professional career, but here without any teammates, he was left to chase back to the pack alone. In effect, he was learning his future trade. He got back and the worrying moment had gone. The 1979 RAS would soon be his. [Music] Take the bike off the road. Take the bike off the road. Take the bike off the road. Cycle racing has always been fraught with danger. And in the rass there were plenty of falls with some riders getting injured. But Roach, always worried, kept his nose clean. Why was it? Well, the wind the wind is very fast and the climb came so late then you were had to kind of keep it together before the climb, you know, and then stay up on the climb then as well, you know. Ro pedaling with a style that made him look as though he had been born on a bicycle and with a cheery wave to friends kept his yellow jersey at the front as he headed towards final victory. Although the time trial was still to come. Luckily for the young Ro, he was already becoming a star because Irish television had chosen this year to follow the event and Roach was ready for four. And so was the time trial where Roach’s leader was last to go. He rode with a lot of power. So much he broke a spoke, but not even this prevented him from racing home a minute better than anyone else. He gave it everything in the home straight. Nothing and nobody was going to take this race away from him. Had to be okay up here cuz sometimes you’re carried away. You know, you have to be able to keep your concentration on the right in front of you. Many want to beat all the time. But I brought the scopes the road there, you know, snacking it. So affecting you up here. So for a minute, the hell I keep going and keep going. He did right up to the gates of Phoenix Park in Dublin where at last he was safe and his first of many race stage wins would soon be his. The Dubliner never thought of losing and with the cameras around him, Rosh was playing to his audience. An audience that in the years ahead would cheer him around the world. Your mother had the ready for steak and ice cream. In 1979, Ro won his first multi-day race. He did it before a huge crowd gathered in Phoenix Park. And in just eight short years, he would do it again in style on the Shonelise. This was a perfect dress rehearsal. And in 1980, France would be his destination and a career that only a few would ever experience. Beginning with the Peugeot team, he moved on to Larut and the stage in the tour to France. For Carrera, he would conquer the tour of Italy. His ambition was simple. I I have something I think that a lot of fellas would like like to have in cycling. So I’d like to to leave a mark if I can. So I’ve just finished my serving my time. So I have a trade behind me now. So what I’m doing now is getting a bit of experience and my good luck hopefully next year go to France for a few months as an amateur and see how it goes over there and use it as a stepping stone like just don’t jump in the deep end like just gradually build up. Later in 1979, Rosh was riding the tour of Ireland and the weather. Well, why do you think Ireland’s so green? Terrible. Very hard to see in the rain. Just play off the wind. Takes your eyes out. Robert Miller from Scotland and the Australian Phil Anderson are also taking part and both went on to have great careers. But memories of this tour were quickly forgotten. The treacherous roads caused many a rider to fall. They’re actually ties and one could have been forgiven for thinking they were in a bike race. Miller, who would become the only British rider to win the King of the Mountains title in the Tour to France, made the most of it with a welltaken stage victory. And there were times when Ireland put on a brighter face in spectacular countryside. But danger was always a wheel touch away. On the narrow roads, riders continually fell, but Ro managed to keep out of trouble and would finish third overall. Here Phil Anderson is alongside him and soon both would meet again on the Peugeot professional team in France. But first selection for the Moscow Olympics of 1980. It had been his main target but it was something of a disappointment. Well, unfortunately, Moscow was was a bit of an anticlimax for myself because I was um that same year, 1980, I’d gone to France to try my hand at becoming a top French amateur with the hope of maybe the the initial idea was to go to France to prepare for the Olympics. And then uh once I was over there, I realized that I had a little bit something more than the Norman guy had. I was getting up in all of the big races and um I won Parube Bay in June before going to Olympics and I had a my first offer from the Pujo professional cycling team for me maybe not so much a confirmed offer but I had a proposal from them that if I went continue to go well that they wouldn’t mind having me on the team. So I felt by going to Moscow and doing well it would confirm my place on the team. But unfortunately it was um an anticlimax for myself because the heat and the difference in food and everything else went against me and I I didn’t perform at all. I went to Moscow and with the the blessing of my job my I was a maintenance fitter in Premier Darius and fingers they told me they give me 6 months leave of absence to go to Olympics to go to the France to prepare for Olympics. So just about as my 6 months was up the Olympics were only around the corner. So they rang up and said, “Stephen, are you coming back or do we keep your job or are you can we give it away?” So I said, “Well, I I don’t know.” So I thought, “Well, if I don’t give this thing this this this thing a good go now, maybe in when I’m 35 sitting down with five kids around me and everything else, I might say, well, if only had given it a little bit more, maybe they could have become a professional.” So I rang up the job and told them, “I’m taking the decision that I’m not coming back and at least till the end of the year.” They told me that they couldn’t guarantee me them keeping my job. And ironically enough, the following week I won Parubet, which the biggest amateur uh road race classic in in France. And that of course opened doors for me, but it wasn’t given confirm me a contract because it was only my first big win. And I at the Olympics, I went down to Beritz with the club I was with and we raced in the um some criteriums down in Biritz. I rode it really really well and my form came back very very good and um at that stage then during my my holidays racing holidays down in Biritz and Puera came along to one of the races and uh which actually won and um they said well we want you to to sign for us and we want the contract signed by the end of the week. I held off for about about another month just toing and throwing and I won more races and everything else and I got a little better conditions but at that time the conditions weren’t great anyway. So um it wasn’t difficult to get better conditions but uh I ended up then going with Pujo at the end. So I would have signed let’s say about the end of uh September 1980. We had Sean Kelly going over um four or five years before me and uh like Sean took him a while to actually get settled in and we had also Robert Miller. We had Phil Phil Anderson like the Australian. They were over there for two years before me as a professionals in the same team and they were having great difficulty in getting even to the end of races not alone getting finishes getting results. So um I was being prepared prepared to actually uh learn the hard way and hurt a lot before actually getting any finishes and I came straight in and started winning straight away. And didn’t he just the new boy on the block won 10 races in his first season delivering the first big shock in Paris known as the race to the sun. Ro grabbed the white leaders jersey and carried it down to the prominard deonglay in Nice where the race traditionally ended with a time trial at the Caldez mountain behind the city. That was after the arrival of the road race in the morning won by the Belgian Jeanluke Vandenbrook in green. Roach had finished third before the time trial. The race had become a battle between Dutchman Adri Vanderpole and Ro. The pair had been swapping the leader jersey around during the week. Ro last to start produced a scorching time trial. He worked hard up the steep but short climb knowing that he was heading for his first big win as a professional in a race that was highly regarded in French circles. He went so well he won the stage taking the race overall from Vanderpole by 79 seconds. Afterwards, Ro was asked how had he done it and his reply was typical. Well, same with the potatoes. In our house, we eat lots of potatoes. He said most young professionals take two years to settle in. Ro had barely taken two weeks and training in France was now second nature. Got a regime. You’re in at half 8 in the morning or 8:00 in the morning. You have your breakfast. If you’re not racing, you’re out training. You’re sleeping in the afternoon or whatever doing your other business in the afternoon. You’re in bed by 9:00 and you can do nothing else. Like if you’re not training or race, you’re racing for the first three months of the year. I was maybe in my own home for maybe four 3 4 days. Wow. Otherwise, I was staying in hotels, restaurants, everywhere on the road. Language is very very difficult to to master and I had no friends. So, it’s very very hard. Once I started speaking the language, I made a lot of friends and making not quite easier. Before Paris, I won a tour of Costa and people thought I thought well, it’s a fluke. I won Parise. Okay. Then I won the last stage with an individual time trial which I won on my own. So it’s sort of it’s just you’re racing against the clock against the clock. Exactly. And I beat Nick Nitson. He’s a one of the top times on the continent. Beat him by 7 seconds. And when I did when I did that, that’s that okay. Did it on his own. So confirmed it. Ro made it all sound so easy in Ireland. He was joining Shan Kelly appearing on top programs like the Late Late Show. The pressure has been put on me a lot for the tour to France because this year or rather in 81 I won four stage races in France and the tour to France actually a stage race. So he knows the man at the moment where I’ve beaten him in time trials. I’ve been with him in the mountains and like I can I can fairly hold him in a match him in a stage race. So the French public I think are fairly brown off now. this fell he know looking for a successor le force to be coming up where Sean as they tell you he’s a different man altogether the sprinter and he’s he’s there to win stages and possibly the overall also it’s difficult for him to say he’s going to win the tour to France it’s optimistic or difficult for the likes of us the cycling fraternity here to say he’s going to win the tour to France the people who are saying he’s going to win the tour of France within a year or two are the European sports journalists the people who follow the races sports journalists from all over Europe are following the following the the career of Steven so far they predict that he’s going to win the third of France within a year or two not you know it’s doubtful this year’s first his first year but certainly next year he’s the man that’s going to take over from heo and as such he’s uh you know it’s going to be a millionaire overnight normally you had a tour to France maybe 22 23 maybe third or fourth year professional where I’m 22 now when the tour to France comes around I’ll be 22 and a half but I’m still only in my second year professional but everything I’ve done in the last year as is I’ve made an awful lot of progress I’ve learned turn him off a lot and maybe I’ve matured a lot as well. Right on both counts. But his tour to France win was still 5 years away. First was a shot at Holland’s big classic, the Amsel Gold Race and Ro was in the league group with Sha Kelly among others Yan Ross, teammate Phil Anderson and Gregor Brawn. No Irishman had ever won this race and here both Kelly and Roach had made the winning move. Could either one do it? And now just one kilometer to go to the finish. And the riders dodging there that keep left side or perhaps in Holland should be a keep right side. And Brown is on the back here. And Brown has been a danger throughout the day. He’s been watching the move of just about everybody in this leading group. Rash you see watching him too. A glance over his shoulder. And Phil Anderson is in the middle. Steven Roach is on the right. But the moment Shan Kelly trying to test the riders out here for the sprint. Kelly a fabulous finisher. And surely if it comes to a sprint finish, Kelly will give Ross a real run for his money and perhaps even win his first class. Ross is going. Ross is attacking inside the last. Brown is coming up on the left. This is the move by Ross. It’s going to surprise the sprinters. I think Kelly is trying to take it up. Brown is going across the road. Now what’s Brown doing? He’s slowing the race down. Brown is slowing the race down. I cannot understand this by Brown. Ross has gone clear. He must have a good 100 meters now. Nobody’s taking up the trace. And Ross is coming into the finishing straight. He’s wiping his face. He’s turning left in Merson. He surely must know now he’s going to win his fifth ample go rate. A look over the shoulder. Roach is in second place. Roach has gone clear. And this will be Ireland’s finest ever performance. Roach in second place. Ross with his head down going for home. And I’ll never understand why. Gregor Brown let this one go. But Ross is coming home. winner of Par and now the first man in the history of the Amsel gold race to win it five times and after this they really are going to call it the Amsel Gold Ras is coming to the line first he knows he’s won it Steven Roach in seventh place the spit for third place Kelly on the left on the right is just ahead of Kelly on the line I would give it to Greg Brown with Kelly in fourth place still had things to learn but second place to this day is still Ireland’s best finish in the Amst 1982 was to be a year of near misses for Steven with no wins at all. He had still to ride his first tour to France, but he was ready for the world championship being held in Goodwood, England, where there will be plenty of support for the two Irish riders, Ro and Kelly. The race produced an Italian winner in Jereppy Cerrone who catapult it out of the field to make the sprint a formality. He had been a pre-race favorite. American Greg Lemon was second and Sha Kelly disappointed took the bronze medal. Rose finished 32nd, but next year in the le Baston le in Belgium, Rose was again mixing it with the best. The field had been whittleled down on the return from Bastonia and the time had come to make a move. An attack going now from the front of this group and that looks to me as though it could well be Steven Roach from Ireland. Steven Roach in a white jersey off Peugeot Cycles and having a very very good comeback season. It is indeed Steven Roach, the only Irish rider in this breakaway group. But Ro was caught by Dutchman Stefan Rooks, one of the few from the Low Country who could actually climb. And as the last few hills began, and this is always the toughest part of this race, the league group began to swell. Once over the Laruke Climb, Rooks had forged on alone. The lanky Dutchman, who would later become his country’s first winner of the mountains title in the Tour to France, was free as a bird as he raced back into Lege. All that remained was to get to the finish first. Chasing group they’re closing all the time the salute from Stephan Rook’s victory in Le’s bast on Leaz and just look as we look back here they are 8 seconds the time gap now and the sprint being taken predictably by Jerei Cerrone Pascal in third place Phil Anderson four but a few weeks later rose was wearing the leader jersey in Switzerland’s tour of Romany as he continued to build up his form for the tour to France taking the lead on the third day rose was never challenged In fact, the rider who would take the runner-up spot was his own teammate, Phil Anderson, and I doubt whether either were thinking of that wet day in Ireland in 1979. This was another first for Ireland, and even the color was right. Anderson, by the way, would win this race in a future year. Rose was now in his third season, having won 10 races in his first, none in his second, but was now winning again. The tour to France was looming on the horizon. his bosses were seeing him as a future tour champion, although there were certainly other riders on the team to consider as well. Well, I I purposely held off till 1983 myself because I felt before that I was a little little too young, even though my sponsors always pushed me to actually ride it because I had other results in other stage races. But um when I eventually signed up in 1983, we had a guy called Pascal Simon who was a very good rider at the time and he was team leader. So um I was riding along with Robert Miller, Pascal Simon, Phil Anderson and a whole lot of other lads uh Michelle Lauron DLA and I was only the boy in the team and at that stage I was actually 23 myself. So I was just ripe to actually go to to ride the big tour. I was actually possibly one of the big boys because I’d already been up there in many of the big races. But um I always looked up to the likes of the likes of Sean Kelly of course Sean being one of the top men at the time as well. And then you have um like like he know Keeper Kaman Moer Seron um Vanimpa was still there at the time. But the undisputed top dog was Frenchman Bernard Eno who like Roach had waited before riding the tour to France and then started winning it right away. By 1983, Eno had won the race four times. This victory coming in 1982 with Pache. Kelly is coming with the yellow jersey. Kelly and Eno are fighting out the finish of this tour to France together. Kelly is Kelly and Eno has got it has won the stage of the tour to France and that is absolutely incredible. Eno was incredible. He was the one man Sha Kelly admired and he was a born winner but in 1983 he wouldn’t be riding the tour. Kelly had a stage win in 1982 and won the green jersey. While kangaroo Phil Anderson was very much a challenger for top honors. Kelly and Anderson, having already worn the yellow jersey, were both expecting to have a great tour to France in 83. There were others, like the Colombian Lucho Herrera, feared for his climbing ability and never in the tour before. The Colombians were out in force and expected to win the toughest race of them all. [Music] And his teammate there too, Charles Bard, number 12. And the tall figure there of Andre Shapi number 95. Steven Roach has made it. Now there’s a surprise. Steven Roach in the white jersey there has made this leading group. So the Irishman who knows that he’s on television in Ireland today said he would do his best to be up among the front runners. Roach has made it. This is Austin Bosch. Well, Roach may have landed a good one. There he is in the white jersey passing through the picture now. Chappi goes through here. This is Bard. No, that’s Leigo now. The rider who started this breakaway sitting at the back. A very strong breakaway indeed. This is Stephan Roach or Steven Roach. What a fine cyclist this young Irishman is turning out to be. His third season as a professional. Had 10 wins in his first year. [Applause] He speaks only French in his household now. He’s married to a French girl last winter and he does it although she speaks English because he wants to be totally fluent in the language because he can’t learn what to do in the field or when the prizes are offered if you can’t understand the language in the country you live in. Ro keeping this pace up high now. He wanted to get into a sort of break. Like all the top riders in this year’s race, they fear that there will be an opportunist breakaway that may well decide the winner of this year’s tour to France because everybody is so delighted to be free of the shadow of Bernard Eno who seems to be able to have the skills to master the attacks when they come. And this could be the breakaway that counts. Andre Shapri looks over his shoulder now. for the breakaway having just formed in the last two or three kilometers and in this group coming up a white jersey of Steven Roach of Ireland. Roach has sensed this breakaway couldn’t succeed. There he is in second spot. With him too we have Mark Madio, Jacqu Bosis. All the riders are virtually from France with the exception of Winance of Holland, Steven Roach of Ireland. And the Dublin rider today knows that he could well take the lead in this tour to France in the opening week if he can manage to get into a breakaway that succeeds in these closing miles. Roach and never before could we say this on the tour to France has started this race as a favorite to win in Paris in three weeks time and there he goes in white and that’s the first time since the race began in 1903 at an English-speaking man has been tipped to win the tour to France and how this man is living up to his name now a fabulous ride yesterday when he finished sixth in the PLO time trial a half a second quicker time would have put him in fourth spot on. And now as we come towards the closing stages of this first day, Roach has sensed the winning move. But sadly, it wasn’t and the nine fugitives were caught near the end and a bunch sprint ensued in Crete to give the day spoils to the Dutchman Fitz Pier. Still, Rose had made an early mark and there would be better days ahead. For the time being though, he was awarded the best rider of the days prize. Nine days later, both Irishmen now had reason to smile. Yes, the stage into pole just coming out of the Pyrenees. I um I got the the best young writers jersey and the very same day Sean actually won the Sean actually won the stage. I think I was second or something in the stage in the pole. But the good thing about it was Sean got the yellow jersey for the first time in his career. So Sean was getting the yellow jersey for the first time in his career and I was getting the best young rider in my first tour for the first time in my career. So it was um big Irish day. These were heady days for the English speakers of the tour. And Miller’s gone. Miller’s gone. This time he’s having none of it from human. He’s waited. And look at this attack. Robert Miller of Platno could take this stage now. He’s certainly going to take the top of the climb. Second on the Tom. Second on the cold aspar. He’s now the winner at the top of the cold with just the descent of some 8 and 12 miles to go. And Miller getting everything he can out of the bike. Look at his face now. continually being supported by his team manager there who must be absolutely delighted with the performance of Robert Miller. But in the end, France was still smiling in Paris where Lur Fon replaced Bernard Eno as the man in yellow. The whole field came across the plaster Concord ready for a bunch sprint. Fin was in second place and perhaps sensing he could do it at Eno and win the last stage as well. What a difference a year makes for the Prisier who fell in the tour of 1982 in what was quite a bizarre tumble. That crash was now but a memory. And here he was coming home the latest champion of the annual jamboree. Could Fon win this stage as well? Fon now in yellow. What a finish. The daughter of France. Kelly in second place looking on his shoulder for the challenge. It’s coming from Gilbert Claus I think of Switzerland. And they’re all over the road now. Kelly is having to go for cloud. Finan is beaten by the spin. Herbert two on the left. And Kelly down. Kelly going to get it now. I think he’s got it on the line. I think he lost it on the line. Gilbert Glouse has won it. So no stage win for Kelly and final victory to Lauren Finon, leaving the French waiting for the expected Eno match of 1984. Meanwhile, Rosh had found his wife Lydia. And is your wife is French, isn’t she? Yes, he’s from from Paris, but he speaks little English like myself. What do you think of Steven in his first tour to France? Well, very well. Does he look very tired? Not at all. Steven, are you quite happy with your first tour? You’ve had a fabulous last week, haven’t you? Yeah, I’m very, very happy. It’s the same. Maybe I said the good wine, but it gets better with uh when it matures. Yeah, exactly. I can say it in French, but I can’t say it in English. Now do you now feel after this tour of France which has been really very very good for you that you can win it in the future? I think think I can do maybe a lot better because taking into consideration that the first week of the tour to France I was very very bad very very down morally and physically I wasn’t very very well up. So I think if I’d commit to the tour to France in a better condition I could have had a much better run. So hopefully maybe next year I can do a little better than that. What about your Irish rival Sean Kelly? He was unlucky today. Very unlucky bro. I think it was really because of the rain in the last the last 20 minutes because I think it would have been a different race if it hadn’t rained because there’s a crash on the corner down here and it upset everybody and I was behind Sean on the on the last corner and his wheel slipped. So, um these little things, you know, so it’s a pity because Sean really worked hard to win the stage this year. Yeah. Like myself and we haven’t won anything. Well, you’ve had a second and a third. That’s not bad. Exactly. Yeah. And we’ve we’ve also come through it very come through with two in the first 20 and we’re only two Irish men on the continent. So, I know. Absolutely fabulous. Well done, Steven. Well done indeed. In 1983, Rose was again at the World Championships, this time held in Switzerland, and he and Sha Kelly were in the thick of the action at the head of the breakaway group. A youthful American named Greg Lemon smarting from his silver medal in Goodwood was out for the title this time. And on a day when all of the stars of the day were here, Lonam Finon, defending champion Jeppe Cerrone, and of course the two Irishmen of whom so much was expected. At the finish in Alton Rin, Leond was unstoppable, and the former junior world champion was now the top dog as a pro. It would be a sprint for the silver and bronze medals, and Ro was up for them, riding in Ireland’s green jersey. The group also included Dutchman Adri Van Deer who chose his moment and the silver medal was gone with the blink of an eyelid. But Rose produced the best from the rest with a stunning sprint to match the bronze medal Sha Kelly had won a year earlier. It was another coup for the developing man from Dun Drum and his professional status continued at a pace. Spain’s Fino Ruperez and Belgian’s Claw Killion had finished behind him. At the end of the year, it was the single day classic tour of Lombardi and again Ro, Kelly, and Lamond were back in the thick of it. The race would end Rosh’s season with five wins. In this leading group, Sha Kelly of Ireland and his countryman Steven Roach and the newly crowned world champion Greg Lamond of the United States. So, the classic going the way of the English speaking riders once again. This is Steven Roach. He’s had a marvelous day. He’s been setting the pace throughout the 153 miles. The fight for the front positions beginning now as the riders make the right hand turn. Kyper goes into the corner first. Henny Kyper now coming to lead out for the finish. Kyper looks over his shoulder now starts the spin for home. Just behind him is Feti and then on his right there the orange jersey of Kelly begins to make the spin. Franchesco Mosa in white tucked in behind Kyper. Mosa now comes forward in the white jersey. Kelly in the center. Lemon joins Kelly on his shoulder, hits the line and that’s a photo finish between Shan Kelly and Greg Leond of the United States and the two stars of 1983 bring the classic season to the end with Shan Kelly first and Leond second. I think Ferrari cycling would have been better if we hadn’t have been at the same time because the the generation the generation span would have been the cycling span the results would have been spanned over a lot bigger period. In other countries, especially in Italy and in France, when they have had two big stars, they never get on together. So, I was delighted that my step and Sean always get on very well together despite our we might have had a few arguments maybe under the road maybe, but um it always was always forgotten about half the race and we fought like like tooth and nail to the to the very very end and we shook hand at the end of it and said, “Well, okay, that’s the way it goes.” Like, but I possibly if Sean wasn’t there, I probably would have won another six power sneezes myself. So apart from that but um I think on other events as well I think maybe I I I don’t say I would have done better but maybe um my other results might have been highlighted more in the media in Irish Ireland Irish media even though in France I always had great media coverage but in Ireland possibly Shawn was always looked upon as being the boy from the country the guy that used to eat nails for his breakfast and I was always looked upon the guy from the city caviar for his breakfast and and went out just rode his bike for done. So, um, but I think that, uh, anybody that’s ridden a bike knows the, um, the difficulty it is to actually get condition, hold the condition, and to race in the conditions which we ride and rode over in the continent. But the two riders were in the same era, as different as chalk and cheese, and both already winners of the Parines race by 1984. The top of the colder tanner and Kelly is first over ahead of Bernard Eno. Taking the risk going down, Ro won the stage by 23 seconds. He was ahead of Eno and Kelly. It was an allIrish battle now with Kelly the new wearer of the white jersey and the final time trial at the cold above N to decide which one would win. Rose rode well but lost by a single second to Kelly on the mountain and Kelly had won his third successive parinise by 12 seconds. Kelly was the last to start. Carrick on Shaw’s greatest sportsman was not going to give up now even to another Irishman. In the tour of Romany, Ro was the defending champion. He found the Frenchman Lauren Finon in red and British rider Robert Miller his two main rivals. Ro never led the race at any point, but he was certainly the most consistent as Switzerland produced its worst weather. On the race’s last day, the Mountain Time trial, he conquered the terrible conditions, although with only the second best time. He regained the lost time over his principal rivals to win this race from Jeanari Gres, the time trial winner. It was an incredibly close run thing. Both riders finishing with the same time, but wrote given the victory on points. 1984 and the tour to France. Bernard Eno was the favorite. Then there was the champion Lauren Finong and American Greg Leond. the world champion regular Shaun Kelly a favorite for the green jersey and Ro expecting more than his 13th place of a year ago win the tour is a very big award I think but um the tour to France is 3 weeks and normally in the stage races I’m very consistent and in the last 12 months or so I’ve made an awful lot of progress in the mountains my time triing is okay and I’m very regular on the stages so it’s I have all the qualities of a good tour of France rider but being in the first five and being the the number one place is a very very big difference and there’s there are so many riders not so many riders but there are so this year there are so many riders on the same level possible of winning that one one bad day or one medium day can lose the tour to France I think on Wednesday between Cernney Pontois and Allanson it really was a mixed day for the Irish it all began so happily because Steven Roach began the stage knowing that his wife had just given birth to their new son Nicholas and he was anxious to tell all the race about it in fact he carried photographs of the child in his back pocket So with the permission of all the race, it was a happy moment when Steven Roach was allowed to attack and press on to the village where he is adopted in Cerni Salen car by all the French people. In fact, he’s building a house there and waiting at the end of the street and flying the Irish flag was the mother of Steven Roach who’d come out from Dublin to see her new grandson and also to see her son in the tour to France. It was an emotional moment and the crowd loved it. But Joy soon pald into a torid tour to France, a crash on the road to Bordeaux. And with the mountains just around the corner, he was in desperate trouble. Riding, he said, the rest of the race on one leg to finish 25th. Even Shan Kelly hadn’t escaped unmarked in this race. And even worse, he would lose the green jersey competition to Belgium Frank Hosta on the very last day. Phil Anderson was there. So too was Ro. by Lonfon was in yellow and proving the revelation. Kelly still in green could lose this race if Hos beat him to the line. Finan straightens up facing the finishing line for the last time in this marvelous order of France. And Vanderod who told us a week ago he’d like to win goes on the left. Vanderod the champion of Belgium. He’s not going to make a mistake for Panasonic. Vaner gets the save and Posta finishes ahead of Shan Kelly. Finan was the man for a second year, beating Eno by over 10 minutes. For Ireland though, it was time to show off its two heroes to its own public. And where better than a course based around Dublin Castle. Pat McUade picks up commentary. Steven attacking on his own this time. Steven on his own. Well, look at that. Roach goes on the left and it’s Kelly who blocks off at the right. And remember that as professionals, these two riders are in rival teams. But here in Ireland, they have formed an alliance of friends to take on and beat the top professionals from Europe. Kelly, I nearly said Kelly, but it’s Roach of course. Now the lone figure comes through the street. Four laps to go now. This is going to be dramatic for Steven Roach. This is his big effort. And if he gets caught, it’s down to Shan Kelly to try and lift first prize in the Grand Prix of Ireland. Roach goes just a couple of weeks ago. This rider was extremely ill. He said he’s recovered. He hasn’t quite got back to 100% form, but he’s inspired tonight. If you come home for the first time in your life when you’ve made yourself a superstar in a different country, then you must be inspired. Roach comes down over the cobbles. Three and a half laps to go to the finish through the arches once again. This magnificent circuit turning out to be everything it promised to be in the center of Dublin. Pat McUade has found a good one. He’s found one that the Irish like and they like it so well. Roach comes through, grits his teeth, screws up his nose in a style that only Steven Roach can go. And look at the gap opening. And again, Pat, we’re seeing an exhibition of speed from this most talented boy. We’re seeing Steven Roach at his best. We’ve we’ve known he’s got this time triing ability. He’s finished very well up in Grand Prix, the nations and tour of to France time trials all over the world. He’s finished well up in time trials. He has it in his legs to do it. He’s shown now his supporters. He’s shown the people of Dublin what he can do. Well, as Roach comes through now, three laps to go for him. Just three laps, one and a half miles about and that I suppose is four or five minutes of racing left to victory for Steven Roach. And oh my goodness me, what a victory that would be in Dublin. It’s something I think that as a young boy, he may one day wish it would happen, but I don’t think in his heart he could ever have believed it would come true. In his first year as a professional in 1982, he shocked France. Ireland hardly heard of him. He won 10 races. The second year, the doctor said, “Take take the best part of the year off. You’ve done too much.” Now he’s come back and he’s coming back as one of the world’s best riders listed by none other than Eddie Merch, five times winner of the tour to France as a future winner of that great event. Roach comes through now, not daring to look over his shoulder, hoping that they’re not chasing him and yet knowing all the time. They’re not only chasing him, but they’re going as fast as they can. Look at the crowd loving every minute of it. And look at the reaction, too, coming from the main field, Pat. Yes, the main field are definitely reacting to this. And I wonder, Phil, what what’s going through uh Eddie Merks’s mind as he’s watching this here tonight. He’s in his Dublin for the first time ever. He’s watching bike racing at its best. And I’m sure he would love to be back in there like he was years ago. But Roach definitely piling on the pressure here. The chase is on, but Roach is riding every bit at his best. And he is not giving up. And there’s no way he’s giving up. And look at the grit. Look at the effort on his face. Well, there isn’t a man here now, Pat, and I know that includes you and me, that wants Steven Rose to be caught. We want the ending to this first Grand Pri of Ireland to be perfect. A race that’s been perfect throughout the streets of the city of Dublin closed down for bicycle riders, would you believe? And Roach is now going to have to hang on. It’s Ian Bambry doing the damage behind. I think a man has won a bronze medal in the Olympic Games, but not this year. Eight years ago, and Kelly isn’t far behind coming up to in the slipstream. If Roach is caught, surely Shan Kelly will finish off what Steven Roach will has started here with five laps to go. or he’ll come through this time. I think it’s the bell when he comes through this time. It’s the last lap this time. Roach has just half a mile to survive. He dangles in front of the whole field in the Grand Prix of Ireland. They’re watching each other. Alan Piper, Sean Kelly waits for the reaction. Looks for the wheels. He wants to follow. His friend but not his teammate is out in front. Roach goes up and over the hill for the last time. He’s making this road look oh so fast now. Dives down out of sight. breaks hard now. Breaks not quite as hard as he would have done. Stays with him. Lies the bicycle over the crowd. Look at the crowd now. There are thousands here tonight. You couldn’t get any more people around this circuit. They go as far as the eye can see. And further comes through the arches now. This is going to be and I think you’ll say it. If only he can win the finest win of his career. And he’s won some of the greatest races in the world of cycling. Look at his face. His whole body is probably tingling now with nerves. He’s so close to a victory that must race at his finest ever. Through the arches now breaks for the last time. It’s all homeman’s life. He can make it now. Roach kicks out of the seven for the first time. He allows himself a glance over his shoulder. Steven Roach is going to win the Grand Prix of Ireland. He’s going to do it on his own. And it’s Phil Thomas in second place and Kelly. Kelly gets second place. A double salute from the two champions of Ireland. And what champions tonight they beam. It was an Oscar-winning performance and Rosh and Kelly had wiped out the opposition. That night the beer flowed. Ro however wanted a tour to France and now L Pong was the new name to conjure with. Finan for me was one of the one of the the great rider because he was of my generation because he was a rider that uh never said never. He was a rider that he would never settle for second place and always trying to be one ahead of everybody else. and um very strong. He had a maybe a span of five years or so around 83 up to about 87 or so where he was just unbeatable in certain races and he used to do what he wanted to do in other races. He was a guy that if you’re going to kind of combine something you could always count on him. He wasn’t a guy that was going to uh shy off the tour of 87 when uh Jean Fon Bernard won this time trial up in Mong 2. At the end of the time trial, John Fern said, “Well, I’m happy to have won this time trial now. I just goes to show you that I’m the strongest man tour and uh it’ll show to everybody else like I’m the man that’s going to win the tour.” But he forgot there was still two weeks to go. So the next morning we’re on the start line and this of course was a general conversation like who does your man think he is uh saying the tour is over? hadn’t been looking at his road book, but there’s still two weeks to go. Like all he’s done is won a time trial. So, um, without anybody saying anything to anybody, we all knew where we were going. We all knew there was a very very tight passage where the the the feeding station was. And, uh, all of a sudden, we all found ourselves in the same same position at the same moment. And everyone just looked at one another, nobody said a word to anybody, and it would just and we were gone. And Bernard lost four minutes and he lost the yellow jersey. But um like Fina was a guy that was probably one of the first guys to ask actually instigated because he was always a guy kind of ready to kind of fight on the field and that I must respect him for. 1985 and the season opened with Tin. Sha Kelly would win for a fourth time while Ro would again be second but he did win the time trial on the coldz this time beating Kelly by that single second. In Belgium, there was another Irishman beginning to break through, Martin Early. But this classic was for mature men, and Early wasn’t ready yet. He’d make his mark later. At the finish, three survived, and Rose took third behind the Italian Moreno, Argentine, and Belgium Claw Cillion. The doofen libé is a preparation race for the July tour to France. The contenders always choose this race and Bernard Eno was smarting after losing to Lonfinon in 1984. Roast had opened with a win in the prologue time trial at Anmas but roast restricted his action to the time trials winning the last day two and finishing 20th overall. He was enjoying a consistency that well for the upcoming tour to France and even to this day no Irish rider has ever won the doofine. Earlier in the Amsel Gold Race, Holland’s top event, the weather was also bad and they’re all clawing the way back in dreadfully cold conditions. I’ve actually seen one or two riders sucking their fingers to try and get some warmth into their fingertips. They are freezing out there. Look at the And it was a bitter day and in a race won by former world champion Jerry Ketaman, Ro was suffering like the rest to finish in 11th place. stage wins in Paris, the overall in the criterium international and the tour of the midi pyrene and two stage of the doofan his buildup was on course one ride he could expect to challenge him though was the very individual Robert Miller a Scott who’d ridden a great doofane libé and was a talented climber rose had first crossed swords with him in the rash tail at the beginning of our tale what did Steven think of him now was a good guy all right but um very strange in in the sense that um uh he’s very very quiet and very preserved and uh didn’t conversation never came very easy with him and uh he was actually in one sense I must say that I have a lot to to thank him for as regards my climbing um uh progress because the first time I actually climbed really well was in the tour in 1983 whereas the stage in the La Plania whereas we’re going over to Duplan and I was with Miller and I was kind of watching Miller is to see how he was climbing because he was climbing very very well. So I kind of just kind of plotted along and watched him what he was doing and I learned an awful lot from him and I developed my own climbing ability on the way Miller climbed probably but Miller was a real genuine climber whereas I was a kind of a an allrounder but um Miller was he always kept to himself which which is a little bit unfortunate and always like to be a little bit marginal like for example if we were having cornflakes in the morning he’d want porridge if we were having porridge he’d want cornflakes if we were having soup he’d want salad if we want salad he’d have soup you But um always make himself difficult. But in saying that like when it came down to kind of uh um nuts and bolts of things, he was always there. Although 180 guys start to France, not everybody has a chance of winning. There’s maybe five riders capable of winning. Greg Lemon, Bernardino, Steven Roach, Phil Anderson, and Sean Kelly. and it’s basically a race between those five. The rest of the other guys are all in a supporting role for the favorites. Kelly were in a now defunct red sprint leaders jersey and Ro were among the tour favorites of 1985 and had made a confident start. The other fancy British and Irish riders have all kept in touch in this opening week and Steven Roach from Dublin looking particularly impressive. He’s justifying the belief in a lot of people here that he has the ability to actually win this tour. Oh, it’s Viva Roach again. A face on Roach and he comes across. Roach is lucky with something today and it’s got to be Victor at the end. The Vicho comes with him wearing number 40. But the speed of Roach then when he crossed the gap that says it all, I think because Roach has said he has the speed in his legs this year and he’s not a man to brag. He’s not a conceited cyclist at all. He just knows himself so well. And Roach now is lifting the speed of this escape too much it appears for Roier. He’s dropped to the back and he doesn’t have the legs to get onto the back of that uh group and Roier struggling to rejoin the four leaders and Roach is pulling out the breakaway. But Bernard Eno was looking for his record equaling fifth tour win and the race was between him and teammate Greg Leond. The two friends were in the process of ending their relationship as Eno fought to increase his lead, battling on the climbs with the Colombian star Lucho Herrera. It was a private piece of infighting and Ro, although riding to a brilliant third place, was not about to get mixed up in the French American battle. Even so, he was showing now the talent which would one day win in the tour to France. Herrera and Eno set the pace while Robert Miller led Pedro Delgado and Roach among them as well. Ro was now climbing with the very best. Leading here is Spanish climber Delgado and behind Holland’s best mountaineer Peter Winnan. Eno finished second to Herrera at Morina Voras to increase his lead over Lemon to four minutes. The next important rendevous was the 32 km time trial through the Vor in the Alps. Shan Kelly was lying fourth overall and searching now for another green jersey. The battling Irishman although often regarded as a sprinter was a serious allrounder and he would finish 10th. Ro who had taken third in the prologue and second in the time trial of Strasborg in this tour was now looking to improve on his third place overall which was a minute 52 behind Leond. He would beat Leond by over a minute and finish sixth while Eno would take second place behind Eric Vanderen of Belgium. Ro had lost time to Eno but it was a good result for Steven. He was still third and only 45 seconds now behind Leond. Eno was ahead over 6 minutes in front. Still, Steven seemed happy. Sometimes the head as the legs, how do you feel? And they don’t answer. But uh but uh at the moment like I’m I’m fairly shattered like but I think everybody is the same. It’s not only the racing that makes it hard, but it’s the very very hot weather every day. The mountains, four, five, six different calls, the the weather being very very hot and uh going from zero up to uh 2,000 m, back down to zero again, up again to 2,000 m. This is very very hard. And also then this year the tour to France I find there’s an awful lot of um for example the stage finish is here today and then you must do 70 80 km to your hotel the next morning back to the start again. So it means you’re getting to the hotel late at night getting a massage getting to bed late up early the next morning having something to eat without even shaving and then away to the start of the race. So you have very little time really to recover. Is it worth it? um not for everybody but uh as there must be a winner, there must be a last. But um Tour to France is really something that I think when you’re when you’re a kid, everybody a lot of young lads dream to ride a tour to France. But um I think you must really come to to the tour to France to really see what the atmosphere is like. And if you can ride it, well, it’s even better by times. But um the tour to France actually is not really worth very much itself. It’s the after after tour of to France when you ride a criterium, you get appearance money. That also depends on your on your performance in the tour to France. You can do a good tour to France. This year I’m having a good tour to France. So for me hopefully it’ll be worthwhile in the gutter games, but last year I had a bad tour of France and it wasn’t worth a thing to me. So I did three weeks and all I got was a throwback side. But on the 14th stage at Eetien, Eno got more than that, leading Lemon by 5 minutes 23 and Rose by 6 minutes 8. Lemon was ahead, gaining almost 2 minutes when Eno’s group arrived for the sprint. Eno has always blamed the Australian Phil Anderson for what happened next. The crash gave Eno a broken nose and for a few moments the fear that his tour was over, but given the same time as his group because of an accident in the last kilometer rule, the Frenchman was still the leader by 3 minutes 32 seconds. The scene moved to the Pyrenees in the coldisque. It was here where we all realized that one day Ro could win this race. Breaking away in foggy conditions, the Dubliner climbed to the sun on a short footish stage of only 52 km. He rode all the way to the summit amid a corridor of noise. Ro was on song. He was all alone. And as if never to be outdone, Shaun Kelly was in the chasing group which also contained Herrera, Delgado, Leond, Eno, and Anderson. It was indeed a select bunch. Rose continued to climb to greatness. He was now beginning to realize he could climb the big mountains of the Tour to France. The Pyrenees this day were very kind to him. He approached the finishing line right on the summit on what was a part day in the tour to France. There was a road race to follow. Steven Roach who gambled at the bottom was still alone at the top. He had won his first stage of the tour to France in the colors of the French sponsor Laradoot. He could settle down now and watch the sprint with interest. And it was Sha Kelly who was spinning home to a surprise second, 63 seconds behind Ro and enough to keep him in fourth place overall as well. Bernard Eno had finished eighth, losing 90 seconds to Roach. But the Badger, as he was called, was still fighting out of his corner. His eye was black. He was an angry man. And in true style and character, Bernard Eno was never going to abandon his will to win this fifth tour to France. It was still a three-horse battle. Rosh, Eno, Leond. Overall, times if not positions were changing and Eno’s victory is not yet certain. While Ireland could not be better represented, Eno though was a tough rider and despite a black eye and a painful nose, not to mention an American teammate who also wanted to win this race, the Frenchman regained control of the 1985 tour. He went on to win it by just a minute and 42. Ro was third, closing to 429 and Kelly fourth. Anderson was fifth. It was a fine result for the English speakers. Next would be the World Championship in Italy. And for a while, Irish eyes were smiling as Ro took the lead. He was now a feared rider on the international circuit. And after third in the tour to France, he was riding with the mind of a winner. His gap though was only 6 seconds on a large group which included former world champion Greg Leond. Ro had been caught and Leamond was now the favorite to win the sprint. But one rider had no intention of waiting. As the line approached the oldest man in the race, Dutchman Zutamelik caught them all napping and went clear. He headed for the world title at 38 years of age. Lemon took second and Rose finished seventh. But because of the Irish duo, Ireland now had its own national tour. It was fabulous that uh for myself and Sean that we had that we’re lucky to have such event in our own home country at the height of of our careers. It was never actually hard enough for myself. I never actually won a tour which maybe a little little regret for myself but um like the only way I could take off like Sean Kelly would be in the Alps or the Pyrenees and day after day after day whereas the Irish roles even though they were hard I would I was never able to get rid of the the guys that were able to beat me in sprints and everything else and Kelly comes clear now this man who sprinted all over the world nobody’s going to touch him vanol is second Paul show in third Kim Ellson of Denmark was in fourth So Sean Kelly has done it. He’s come to Ireland in the first of the Nissan Classic International opening stage and my goodness me, what a ride. In the duration of the tour, I got a a few nice stages, but um in saying that, like I I was never actually at my best for Nissan Classic because there was always I always knew before I started that um you’re riding in home ground, the continental riders always watch you even more so because they know you want to show in front of your home crowd and having Sean Kelly on his best form and the sprints and everything else that were there for him made it impossible for me to win it. as he swings into the finish for the final time. The only obstacle, St. Patrick’s Hill. Well, St. Patrick came to Ireland and I suppose he’d be kind to look favorably on Steven. There’s one last torturous climb. Look at the cross. Look at the applause. In the hearts, the wishing this young, personable Dundrum Dublin are up the hill. And Kelly is doing his bit. He’s watching where the danger is. Kelly is going to be in yellow tomorrow on the way to Limrich. That’s for sure. And it’s also pretty sure that Steven Roach is going to win a stage. And if he doesn’t, those crowd will just lift him over the line. Roach climbing through a corridor of noise now while the rest struggle for second place. He’s going to get his victory. He’s promised himself. Second this morning to Kelly. Now he’s going to win this afternoon in Sunny Corp. The final gear change. The banner comes into sight. A little bit of straightening of the numbers, making sure the judges know Steven Roach now. And there is the victory salute. every rider wants to make and Steven Roads takes the flag. Wonderful. Wonderful by Roach and his second Sha Kelly. Thunder Paul is third. Mclolin is next. Kelly was heading for the overall win. But Ro, not normally a sprinter, was out to win the stage, which ended in Limmerick. The two Irishmen were living their greatest moments on home roads. They’ve been to Europe to learn their trade and now they were back to practice it. Rose slipped the pack and driven on by the huge crowd which was to become the trademark of this event, he was again victory bound. Steven Roach hardly looked tired, smiling with the same impish smile we’d seen since he was a young Irish international. Like all big races, the Nissan would make its finish in the Irish capital. So the scene was set for the big finale. And as he swings round there, Ludo Peters, this looks for every bit in the world like a finish of a stage of the Torah. The number of people here in the center of the city, this massive field, all the following cars, the mobile cameraman. Who would have thought that international cycling at this level would have come to Ireland in such a big way and so quickly? And it was all due to the two battlers from opposite ends of the country and Irish television paid its own tribute. Well, it is possibly my best season in my five years as a pro. So, um I am very happy. also well first stage win in the tour to France this year. Uh you look back on it I’m sure with considerable pride. Of course the the tour to France is um a very very big race on the continent and uh the stage in the Pyrenees as always is the one everybody likes to win and um finishing third in the tour to France was something for me but I think winning the stage was actually bigger because I actually showed my face in front of the bunch for once and you’re looking forward to the new season the new club. I am looking forward with um with a lot of optim very optimistic league and hopefully we’ll have another good season this year. But Roach was to end his year on a low note. He’d taken the decision to ride a six-day race on the track. Some were asking why ride such a risky type of event. The reason I rode a six day, it wasn’t like people might think it was for the for the money and what have you, but I rode a six day. It was a plan of Jim Yanni, who was my team director at the time in Lared. His plan was to prepare me prepare myself for the an attack on the world our record and the only way of preparing for the world our record was to write a track and I had no notion of writing a track before. So I started getting my act together, riding a bit of track in in Germany and then the power six day came up and um I was riding reasonably well actually actually um leading the six day with only do and unfortunately in the second last Madison my back tire blew out and I spent I went down the last uh straight on my back and upside down and everywhere and belted my knees off the ground and because the on the track we ride a fixed wheel whereby you cannot stop pedaling your pedals keep going around like when I was bouncing on the track I was still going up and down and I did in a very very bad knee injury. No one knew how serious it was on the time. People thought well rest up and it’ll be okay. And unfortunately when I rested up and I came back it was still painful and one doctor was saying one thing and another doctor was saying another thing and I went this specialist and that specialist and one operation and that operation wasn’t success and I but eventually I after the second operation I got it together. What happened with Steven? He had his crash. So it was the end of his season, so in the November. And after the Paris, um Steven hung his wheels up, had a a complete break from training. And the fact he wasn’t riding his bike, um meant he wasn’t aware that um the knee was going to cause him any problems. So didn’t go to seek any treatment. Of course, come Christmas, come the new year, when he got back on the bike again, um he still didn’t realize until he was back at his training camp that he had a a little bit little bit of a niggle there and he was able to get it sorted out temporarily, but it came back to plague him, you know, throughout his career. I had a bad year 86 because of injury and everything else. And I just signed a big two-year contract with Carrera in 1986 because um I finished third in third of France in 95 with Laud. So they do that they were stopping they um had no no place to go. So Carrera gave me a very very big offer to go to them. I went to them in 86 and I had a flop of a year because of injury and everything else and um they still had one more year to run on my contract. So during the winter of 1986 they came along to me said well Steven you’re very nice guy and everything else but don’t you think we’re paying you a bit much for the returns you’ve given us in 1986? Well, I said, “Yes, I do, but like that’s the risk you got to take.” You know, if I had come here and won everything, would you have come along and said, “Here, Steven, here’s an extra bonus.” So, that’s that’s the look of the draw. So, they wanted to actually cut my salary in two straight away. So, I said to them, I said to them, “Listen, no.” I said, “I don’t want any of that.” I said, “Um, I don’t want to get bad. I don’t want to have to get dirty with everything like this.” But I said, “Well, I’m willing to talk.” I said, “Right, I think it’s fair is that you give me till Easter 1987. If by Easter I haven’t performed, then we’ll sit down and I’ll talk whatever language you want to talk. But you got to be fair to me. Anybody can have a bad year. I’ve had a lot of injury. I’ve had operations and everything else. It’s difficult to perform. But I’m confident that the motor is still good. So we’ll talk about next Easter. So that was my main worry starting off the season. So after a bad 1986, the 1987 season was a crucial year for Ro. And again, it was back to the familiar ground of the Caldez and the last stage of the Parinise. Shan Kelly was looking for his sixth straight win in the event, which would be a record. Rosh’s season was off to a good start with victory in this time trial. Kelly finished in 19 minutes 57 seconds, but Rosh, who had worn the leader jersey on five days, was destined for a final fourth overall after he finished 10 seconds quicker. But what did Rose think of his main rival? After all, they were the best together on offer. like Sean had a great admiration for before I went over to the the continent and possibly like people say, “Oh, I was used to like he know used to like Mer and what have you, but um Shawn was always my idol because I was an Irish man. When I was 16, 17, 18, 19, Shawn was overing out sprints for the great Freddy Martins.” And that kind of information we got from the local papers because Shawn was one of our own. And when I went over there, I was in Shawn’s I was uh riding in in races with Shawn, everything else. And I had an incredible respect for the man. And um later on like our our friendship grew then on on and off the bike. But um when you see the races he rode and the way he used to ride like there was I had a few runins with Shawn on the bikes, but I only had myself to kind of to to to blame for a lot of things because Sean was kind of a guy he couldn’t trust him. like he was the kind of a guy he wanted to win so much like he for example example we’re riding Paris Nice in uh 85 86 thereabouts and we’re two days from the end three days from the end we’re going up from Sanrope and Hina was in the lead I think it was and Sean was several line third and fourth or fifth and sixth whatever it was so um I had a chat with Sean we said listen like we don’t want this fell he win this race here like if you can win or I can win it but we don’t want Hina winning it twice that’s that’s okay with me, you know. So the plan was, well, if Sean got away in a group, I wasn’t the chase. And if I got away in a group, Sean wasn’t the chase. And then cuz we knew that we beat everybody else and called the dead anyway. So there was no there was no problem. So anyway, Sean being clever as he is, got away in a group first. So I was saying then Shawn gone. So anyway, uh to my good fortune, didn’t some other team start chasing? They chased and brought down Sean’s groups. I was saying, “This is this is great. Now it’s my turn.” So I got away in a group anyway. And off we went and we got about 2 minutes up. All of a sudden I hear coming over the race radio Sean Kelly’s skill team is right in front of us. Could you repeat that please? So I heard a Shan K skill team right under front. So that is strange you know. So we’re covered about 20 km to go and Sean what the hell are you doing? I use stronger language at the time I suppose but what are you doing Sean? So she well the problem is David says you were in the front there like you know and um if you were to finish off a minute or minute and a half ahead of me he says I wouldn’t even be second in this race. So I don’t mind you winning like but I want to be second. He says that was the excuse you know what can you say like that’s that was Sean. He was kind of a guy he was um but at the same time we had an awful lot of good things together like one and two like in the national that I won or that he won like you can imagine like two Irish people over there fighting it out leaving everybody behind us on the over the cance in the snow and you know incredible memories like me trying to get him drop him off my wheel and not being able to and him kind of saying take me to the finish I won’t I won’t sprint this kind of stuff and I get to the finish it comes faster you know you weren’t going fast enough Stephen you But um like I think that one thing I must say is that we we had a in one sense I was we’re fortunate to have a career together because I learned a lot and unfortunate at the same time because Sean does so many good things I did so many good things where they all came in a in a period that were was was of 15 years whereas it could have been 30 years maybe but even before Paradise Ro had herald his return to fitness with victory in Spain’s tour of Valencia taking the lead on the sixth stage ro held on with ease and he claimed the ash yellow jersey after Shan Kelly had won the final stage. [Music] The A’s bast on Le was in April and Ro on top form was ready to win the most wanted classic. He should have as well going up to and past Mareno Argentina the world champion looks to be tired. He’s in trouble definitely. He went after Cillian and couldn’t close the gap. Roach has gone around them and is going up the curillion very fast. And there they are together. The Belgium and the Irishman, the Hashi and the Carrera. Argentine chasing looks to be about 150 200 meters behind them. Uh yes, Basil. I just think it’s one of my um biggest tactical blunders in my whole my whole life I think. But it all boils down to one simple story and that is in the start of 87 I won tour of Lencia and I won a few other races but I was second in Paris kne because of the puncture and a bit of a panic in my team when I did puncture in the final on the second second last stage. Um I was second and third in many many events and um my data sport David Bava came along to my room the night before the um the bas and said Steven you’re too generous when you’re writing these classics because a few days earlier I’d written in flesh well and finished fourth I think in it and David says to me Steven after giving me a bit of a lecture on tactics and everything else he said you got to be prepared to lose to win. I said that sounds clever enough, you know. So, uh, with this situation then I got into in the final of Lebanon le after riding everybody else off our wheels, myself and Claude Quickon. We’re riding into the finish in Lege and I thought, well, everyone’s wiped out now. It’s finished. L Duke is closed. There’s only myself and Claudia here now that can possibly win. Claudia and myself are not great sprinters, one or the other. But the thing is, if whoever leads off will definitely probably lose. So I didn’t want to be the one that was going to lead off. So I just sat on Criculum’s wheel and I was my mind. I was saying I got to be prepared to lose to win. That was going through my mind that I was no way was I moving off his wheel. I moved off once or twice maybe, but I wasn’t going to move off it. He kept looking back at me. We got slower and slower and slower and eventually we didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t know what was going on behind. Argentina was coming back through the cars, but because there’s a whole line of cars behind us, Argentina was in those cars and we couldn’t see them. I wouldn’t say that would have made much difference anyway, but I would just in my mind like got to be prepared to lose to win. And then the first time I saw was when we went around the the uh the the roundabout at the end of the ironically enough, the name of the street is called Boulevard Souvenir. So that’s my souvenir of das and I came off quickly’s wheel and at the same moment as sergeant team coming through my right and I was just totally baffled like where’ this guy come from. This is sensational. Now Kini looks behind. He knows the game is up. Roach realizes he’s in trouble as well. And Moreno Argentine is going for a hatrick. Steven Roach trying to get back at him. Roach Argentine and Argentina win it. The hattricker wins. That’s sensational. What a disappointment for Steven Roach. Incredible. Argentine won. I was second. So, Boulevard souvenir will definitely be a souvenir for myself. You win some and lose some. Back to Randy where two wins had already put him among the greats. [Music] It’s a double leg stage, the first of 66.6 km. And they say, Pat, that the tour of Romany is the ideal preparation for the Jirro. and uh with the good climbs and the mountain top finishes. Yes, it is uh the Switzerland the weather as you can see beautiful weather there and nice and warm and that is very good for bringing on the form racing in in good sunshine and hot sunshine. So it’s it’s very good preparation ideal then length five or six six days long. Roach leading by 9 seconds from uh Ron Pence going into the last day and there is Steven Roach in the green jersey which is the leader jersey in Tours Roman. Yes, we’re just on the final climb now up to the finish. This is a a mountain top finish here. And we’ve got Roach riding up there. It was a Panasonic rider away now. And Roach is just attacking on the lower slopes of the climb. The bunch there chasing him hard now. But Roach obviously taking this race very much to to his his opponents. And Steven Roach clearly Pat has left the tough luck and the disappointment of Harry Nice and Le Baston Lege behind him. He certainly has. I mean we’re seeing Roach at his best now. I mean he just caught Ry a moments away there. He rode up with Cornier on his wheel, rode right up to Ryderman, right past him and has now dropped both Cornier and Roderman and is going on for a stage win on his own. There he is coming through. He’s always smiling, always delighted. And now we’re with Roach, uh, the race leader there for the last rider at the start on the climb. And we can see even the snow on the on the foothills there. Steven now 27 years old from the Carrera team. Not quite sure when last I spoke to him whether in fact he was going to be the leader of the Carrera team for the Jirro de Italy because Vicente is there as well but I think the form he’s been showing in recent weeks and months must make him the clear leader. P I would think so. I certainly if he doesn’t go into it as a clear leader I would think that before long he’ll assert his authority on the team and show his the rest of his team that he is the one to to put the support behind to win the tour of Italy. The time trial on top of a very good morning ride means that Steven Roach at 42 minutes and 2 seconds has won the individual time trial and has won the tour of Roman day for the third time in a time span of 5 years. And it wouldn’t be Steven if he wasn’t showing once again the fun side to a serious sport. But the Jirro Dalia, a three weeks race second only in importance. The tour to France would not be fun. Roach would have to battle his Italian teammate and acknowledge rich playboy Roberto Visentini for the right to win. Visentini is the golden boy of the of the 80s. He had won the tour of Italy in 1986 with Carrera. He had had a great career before that. Also, I had never won a major 3-week long tour. Even though I had won all the small 8 day, 10day tours, but 10 days and three weeks totally different things, I’d won an awful lot h coming to the tour, but they were afraid that maybe I might have been already wasted that um the better of having me there as a a second leader to Vizentini. We started off like as coal, I thought co-leaders until of course the stage of the um of uh the Pojo, the time trial descending it, which I won. Uh I got the jersey the following day I think in the team time trial where Carrera won and I realized then that Ventinia was to was changing because he was talking to the journalist and journal journalist was saying to him well well anyway um you’re going to beat Roach in the time trial in San Marino you get the you think Jersey then Roach will ride for you every day after to the finish and then the real niggling part about them was the journalist said to Vizentini well and then like that then you go to tour of France and help and help Roach in the win the tour to France and Vizanti responded said, “Oh, no, no, no. After tour, I’m going on holidays. I’m not going to to France.” So, I said, “Well, like, who does he think I am?” Like, he wants me to actually ride for him. And then when I’m away, needing his help, PB in the beach somewhere. So, I thought, well, that wasn’t going to be the way I was having it. So, I let things go and I realized that every day he was following me everywhere. I had a jersey like, but he followed me everywhere. If a breakaway group went away, he wasn’t in it. I’d have to get across to it myself maybe and look around. He’d be on my wheels. So it wasn’t exactly the best way of um getting on the good side of me. And then one day I remember there was a big big crash crash in the final 500 meters I think it was big crash and I was in the crash and I looked at television that night and who do I see just popping off on the right hand side of the road Bentini I could have just stopped to see it was no big risk because it happened in the last kilometer but I thought it was the gesture the gest made of actually h seeing me on the ground and going I thought it was very sly. Visentini had made it quite clear he wanted to win the race and Ro was to play the support role even though he still had the Malia Roa on his shoulders. Visentini finished the time tri from Remany to San Marino in the wet conditions with the best time. It brought about the change as Roach struggled and lost big time. The Aishman had few friends in Italy now with the crowd spitting at him and fetss forcing him to eat in his room. Ventini had finished and he had the pleasure to watch and wait to see just how much time Rosh would lose. It was hard to believe they were both on the same Carrera team as each plotted the other’s downfall. As he had planned, he beat me in the time trial in San Marino and I was kind of saying, well, what do I do now? He’s got the jersey. He’s all Italy is behind him because he was a local boy. He was the goal of an Italian boy, the previous winner, an Italian team. sure he can win it win it going on his previous results and who was I so I just thought well I had a very very good um accomplice actually was Eddie skippers we shared a room together that night I remember sitting down with Eddie and I said well Eddie what do you reckon so Eddie says what do you mean I said well um thinking I still win so Eddie says if you believe you can win I think you can win I said well how do we go about it so Eddie just said well um Vizantini has won today he’s put an awful lot of effort into winning this stage today. They we opened out the road book and we said, “Well, the next mountain stage is in three 3 days time.” So, Vizanti will be sure that I’m going to attack him in 3 days time, but what if I attack him tomorrow? We said, “You’ll not be expecting it.” So, we thought, well, the stage in the sapada, we thought, well, we’ll just wait and see. So, then eventually anyway, a group got away on a hill and we had no Carrera teammates in it. So, I thought, well, I’m a Carrera teammate. If I got across that group, then Vizentini can’t chase me. So I went down the far side of the hill like a a mad man and I left everybody behind me. Got across to the break. We had two minutes up but eventually my team car came along to me. He said to me that well Terrera riding behind me. So I thought well what’s the story here? Like my own teammates are riding why not wait for the other guys? So it actually annoyed me to the an awful lot and um I I always remember one vision I have of that particular day was I have many visions of that that day but uh very very wide open road at 20 yards wide and I’m like 40 seconds ahead of the bunch with this twoman break on my sitting my wheel and my own teammates riding 40 seconds behind me with a whole pelican on their wheel and we spent about 20 km with the same gap of about um 40 seconds and I was I was just possessed and um When they caught me then I just went away again another group and that’s the way it was all day. I kept going away and eventually Vizentini blew his brains on the last hill and lost six minutes and I got the jersey back by it was 1 second or 2 seconds from uh Tony Roinger who actually was coming through at the time and Vizentini was down to third place some four or five minutes behind me. So it was a a memor memorable day for myself and also for Italian cycling I think. So two days after winning the race lead, Visentini was out of the hunt for first place. Ro had reclaimed the jersey. So be it only just. It’s now the penultimate stage from Ko to Pia and Ro is in front again, but so too is Vicentini and Robert Miller wearing the green jersey as leader of the king of the mountains. This was a solid breakaway. Now Rosh was in the pink, but he still could not trust his friend who was clearly struggling behind. Visentini had always been a controversial character, even in Italian cycling, and now it seemed he’d accepted the fact that Ro was the stronger. He was falling back and out of touch with the race. He would gradually fall back and lose six minutes. Rose is among the great climbers of the day here, Marino Laceretta and Robert Miller, and was doing all of the work. But then, if you lead the race, that’s your job. He was now climbing so far ahead of Vicentini, he would no longer be a problem on the final stage of the event. Steven Roach was now pedling to his first victory in the Jiro Ditalia. Robert Miller was collecting all the points he required to win the King of the Mountains and he would finish second overall as well. Robert Miller wins the stage. Ro still has the strength to spin home in second place. No doubt now who is going to win this event. Road saluted his public. Roberto Visantini came in losing that 6 minutes and indeed 21 seconds in the time trial between Aosta and St. Vincent over 32 km. Ro finishes with the best time to prove a point and win the tour of Italy by 3 minutes and 40 seconds. He was ahead of his favorite British rider Robert Miller. Visentini gave up the tour on the last day. On the podium, Steven Roach saluting his crowd, the first Irish winner of Legeria with Robert Miller, his friend and helper alongside him, even though he’s on a rival team. I maintain even today I did not do anything wrong. Like um people would say I shouldn’t have done what I’d done, but um like I was a teammate. We break away in front. Career had no teammates in it. I got across it. So I was doing my job as a teammate. Okay. I was a luxurious teammate, but still I did my job and it wasn’t for Ventine or anybody from the career team to ride after me. I always maintained that I was going to we all had the same jersey. Didn’t matter whether it was Jimmy McGee or Steven Roach. If we had the same jersey on, we rode for the same the same prize. So, um I felt there was I was my my right, but um that’s the way it happened. Little more than a month later, Steven Roach is back home in Dublin being paraded down Okonnell Street in front of hundreds of thousands of people. As winner of the Tour of Italy and the Tour to France, there was no stopping him. Now, his winning the tour to France, we detailed graphically in part two of this history. Ro was now a superstar and ready to show his talent off again in Dublin in another city center race. The victory wave now as familiar to the Irish as to the Europeans. Then to Cork for the second match. Roach was really on a high now. Look at the face of Roach here. This is the last lap and this race is so so much alive now. Harris 34 of a lap to go. Roach still leads. Everybody happily safely around that bend. Steven Roach now takes the lead. Kelly looking at Oh, Kelly almost hits. Kelly almost hits Steven Roach. Kelly goes through the inside. Mark Watson’s on his shoulder. Mark Watson. Oh, got the wall down. Ro has gone down. Travors has gone down. There’s a mass pile up in the straight as Kelly spins home. Kelly comes home and takes the victory on the line. Steven Roach certainly went down. There was some confusion there in the spin finish. I was eating Sean out for the sprinting the last lap on the corner. Sean came past me. So I didn’t continue sprinting. I let the gap go for Sean and one of the person came around me then and he hit me twice and then I don’t know what how he kept coming back but kept catching me and I think he caught me in bars and down we came and that was it. Buddy was unheard and his next target was the world title which was in Vlac Austria. Well really it wasn’t his aim at all as Roach was part of the team just to help Sha Kelly win. After all Roach had won the world’s two biggest tours and done little training since. We went to the world just as a team and we all kind of had the understanding kind of undiscloed understanding that Shawn was going to be the man that was going to be world champion. So, um, uh, Martin and Paul rode the early part of the race and then, um, sorry, before I get into that, when we we arrived, when we eventually arrived in, uh, in Vilac for the world championships, which is about 2 days before the event, we went around the circuit and after going around the circuit once, I said, “What were they saying? This circuit’s for a sprinter. This is this is not a circuit for a sprinter. This is for for a sprinter, but also for an all-around rider.” So straight away I started putting myself in in the in the shoes of a potential winner because I felt that uh my condition was good enough. The circle was definitely a good enough wearing down circuit. So I thought well it it could be good for me. But in saying that I was riding a green jersey on my back. That meant that I was riding for whoever was in the position of winning. But um after myself riding the tour to France and the tour of Italy, I was very tired and I thought well Sean on the outside I’d be riding basically for Sean and for myself of course as it happened then blessing in the skies it rained was very very cold and when I say blessing in the skies I mean that because after riding all the race that I’d ridden I was very very tired. If we had had a very warm day I could not have been my best of form. I looked at the internet that morning. I remember I was sharing a room with Sean and we just said, “Well, there 200 guys starting this race. There’s a hund of them you can forget about straight away. There’s another 20 don’t like the rain. Another 20 going to aren’t on form.” So, it brings down to only about 40 potential. There’s maybe only 10 maybe capable of winning it. So, we just said that our odds now are coming more in our favor now. So um we took off and rode around and Martin and Paul Kimage they kind of kept it together for the first few laps and in the final then I just took over but I was just one of those days that you’re the stage like LA plan you was kind of just different person and the the final two laps of the world championships I just said to Sean don’t worry and I when the breakaway went Sean wasn’t in the breakaway and I just went to the front with Shawn on my wheel and we rode across to it together there was only himself and myself capable of doing it and um which is like there was 13 or 14 in the breakway group. I remember getting across to the brake and just riding my eyeballs out to make the break get the gap get wider and wider and um I just rode very very hard and the last lap then about uh 6 km to go. I felt well I better take a breather now because um if I don’t take a breath now I’ll not be able to lead Sean out lead the sprint out for Shawn. So I came to the back of the group and just then Ralph Sson attacked. So I was well placed to actually go with him. So I just jumped across, got on him and just looked around and saw well the bunch wasn’t there anymore. So I thought, well, what am I going to do now? Because I can’t beat Senson in a sprint. I can’t beat Twin Van Lee in a sprint. I can’t beat uh Ralph Goul who are three very good sprinters. So the best I can do here is for it. The group gets back up to us. Sean isn’t guaranteed to win because Argentina is going so well. So I thought, what do I do? So I thought, well, the hell it play card now. And then in the final 500 meters then I just saw the opportunity and I calculated again because I reckon the road wasn’t wasn’t actually parallel on the left hand side getting narrower and narrower to move into the finish line. The wind was blowing from the right. So it meant that if you wanted to get past the riders in front you got to go out into the wind. So I just stayed in the wheels and I waited until the gap. I saw a gap getting narrower and narrower. So I thought if I can get through with nobody on my wheel maybe I can get I can surprise them and get a gap. And he knows I had um Kuma on my wheel. He was very fast also. But I thought, well, if I went through a big gap, he’ll follow me through and be deep in the sprint. So I thought, well, if I go through the gap and the gap’s getting closer, then come won’t get through. So um I went anyway and come couldn’t get couldn’t get through the gap. And I got it 10 yards and let’s finish. But I kept saying, “They’re going to catch me. They’re going to catch me.” And I kept saying, “No, they’re not they’re not going to catch me. They’re not going to catch me.” Can it be possible? The only man who’s ever done this in the world before is Eddie Mer and Steven Roach. It’s going to get him for Ireland. This is the most marvelous is all one could ever hope for. The only English speaking rider ever to win the tour of Italy. The second English speaking rider to win the tour of France. And now it’s going to be the world championship for Steven Roach is the champion of the world. only the second man ever to win the three major races in the world in the history of cycling. We still go to the fairy and was only once I crossed the line then I kind of kind of came something like what I done. You see fairy tales are true stories sometimes. Roach cried. Ireland rejoiced. Here was a man who had had to beat his own teammate to win the Jirro do battle in a difficult tour to France before winning that and then while trying to ride for Sha Kelly claiming the rainbow jersey for himself. Roach was at the height of his career and had joined Eddie Merks in a very exclusive club. At the start of the year, Carrera wanted him to take a drop in salary. Now he was the most wanted rider in the world and Dublin was again on hand to welcome home its prodigal son. He was now commanding pop star status and just about everybody was wanting to speak to him. That’s the body of Steven Roach. Welcome back. Thank you very much. Great to be home. The Nissan Classic in the fall of 1987 just had to be special. Where better to continue a fairy tale story than in the setting of Kilkenny Castle? I think all of Ireland stood on the roadside to see Roach and Kelly, who between them had now won just about every major race in the world. This little country had eclipsed a sport to which it had hitherto known nothing about. The world’s two greatest bike racers, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Roach, Mr. Mrs. Kelly and Roach. [Applause] The special dinner to honor both of them showed their rivalry and the great friendship. They were both winners. 1987 was a great great year. Roach’s hardware had few equals. The season had ended with a total of 15 wins in all his best ever. And the trophies from around the world included his rainbow jersey for being world champion. This magnificent trophy, the pero super prestige was for the season’s top allrounder. He was not among the best. Now he was the best. But 1988 was around the corner and Roach’s continuation as the world’s first choice was not set to continue. Injuries seemed to follow Steven’s every move. Had a lot of bad luck for 3 years because I was in a in a different specialist hospitals. you dream of being a world champion someday is being wearing the world championship jersey for for one full year and all of a sudden then you have it and you you have it locked up in the press. So um it was very very frustrating that time for me but things came better when I I I met a doctor in Germany. I’m a specialist for orthopedics, a medical doctor for auto orthopedics and sport medicine. And um I’m the team doctor of biomeic since more than 20 years now and team doctor of the German football national team since 5 years. He said to me, “Ah, I think I can do something for you.” I said, “I’ve heard that before.” So he said, “Come to my office tomorrow in Munich. I’ll have a really good look at you.” Next day, I went along to Munich, had a talk with him. He brought in his physiotherapist, his massur, his uh chiropractor and they all had their 10 minutes kind of scrutiniz scrutinizing my my whole body. So um eventually then anyway he um he uh had a little meeting with his personnel. They had a little chitchat between them and he came back and said I think we can cure you. He came in May 88 I think the first time and he suffered from the pain of an accident he has had in August 87. So he couldn’t train and take part on races for several months and um it was a problem of the left knee. The pain mostly was caused by the capsule and by a damaged cartilage and the consequence was that he couldn’t move and he couldn’t um work with the left leg. So the muscle was atrophic and he had no power. So he said, “Because you’ve told me you’ve been to Italy, you’ve been to Spain, you’ve been to France, and nobody’s cured you. Before you go home and say the Germans haven’t cured you, I want you to give me my chance. In 10 days time, if you have no difference, you can go home and say I haven’t cured you. But you give me a chance. I want you to stay here.” I thought that was very very brave of him. So I said, “Okay, stay there.” So I stayed for 10 days and after 10 days, I started feeling better. Our therapy um means a treatment of all the body. Not only the brain, not only the knee but uh all the body that means the spine, the hips, the muscle of the upper left leg and the same on the right. And uh but mainly to lower the inflammation of the cutter of the left knee and to help to regenerate the cartilage. And the whole treatment lasts 6 months because it was either getting an operation and having the risk of it not working out again or I was sticking with this guy who meant I could I was able to start riding my bike again and getting treated at the same time. The end of the carrier seemed to come when he was here the first time and um after a long while of treatment and a long hard training he could ride for more 5 years I think. No wins after much of 1988 was lost but hopes were high in the Nissan Classic after Roach had finished sixth in the Tour of Britain. but a fall again and a further aggravation to his left knee and Roach’s progress had been halted once more. His world championship defense in Belgium had seen him finish only 75th and the man who only 12 months earlier had been fated by his public was now back on Irish roads a shadow of his former self. There wasn’t anything else to do now but to finish the Irish race in eighth place and hope that 1989 would be kinder. Shan Kelly had now won the Parines race seven times but this season would see Ro again showing his early form. He refused to give up and in the race to the sun would clash with a rising star called Miguel Injerane. The Spaniard was to become arguably the greatest ever rider in the time trial. But as he raced up in the leader jersey in Paris Nice, he was having to bow to Steven Rosh, who knew all about conquering the cold. The Irishman had finished the short prologue time trial in Paris with an almost identical time as Injur. But here he was again inspired, and he would beat the future five-time winner of the tour to France by a handsome 32 seconds, losing Parinise by just an unlucky 13. In the tour of Italy, riding now for the Spanish Fagore team and with no Visentini at the start, Ro was still a man of strength. In the mountain time trial from Medicio to the top of Monte Gerroso, Ro was battling close to his best again. He was lying seventh just 42 seconds off the leader jersey held by Lon Vignon. But although Ro would finish fourth, he couldn’t quite get enough time back to earn the Magi Roza of leader. The stage was won by Lucho Herrera from Colombia who beat Roach by 53 seconds in Milan. The Aishmood finish a creditable ninth. Ro’s knee had withtood the rigors of the Jiro dital italia. Two years after his victory, Rosh is back at the Tour to France where 1988 winner Pedro Delgado started late in the time trial in Luxembourg and had a long fight back to eventually finish third in Paris. The stage was won by Eric Broking while Delgardo with time added on finished almost last. Ireland was finding a new star too in Martin early who finally landed a big win as he raced into Po. He was ahead of a leading group to take the day’s major prize. Roach had finished in the field and while Early enjoyed the trappings of his first stage win, Roach was still up amongst the race leaders and according to Jimmy McGee in with a chance. All of those in front of you really don’t have a realistic chance of winning in Paris. Of those who do, how many have you who I told you that I tell them I tell them, Jimmy, he’s no chance. He’s no chance. No, but uh sure there’s a lot of lads like Sean Yates and those these guys, they’re going to be get getting blown out today, but um I may move up a few places in general, but that means I have to be in the front myself. So like at the moment, I’m very anxious this morning cuz I don’t know what what what’s what’s in store for me because Nuro when I hit these kind of mountains, I I wasn’t performing. I was performing a little bit under underneath the other guys and it wasn’t enough to be in the in the front and the top. So I’m a little bit uh anxious now this morning before. Are you saying today is the first big test for you then? Yeah, the time trial I was very happy with my progress, but the mountains still say the mountains and there’s no mercy in the mountains. You’re either on form or you’re off form. If you’re off form, there’s no mercy. Ah, the mountains are great levelers and Ro had had a bad time of them on the road to Cotto where Miguel Injurain had one. Kelly had even finished fourth and future winner Greg Lamond was eighth. Ro was unhappy now he was losing his chance to win a game. The must have a lot yesterday to finish the stage. So, and today is a much more difficult stage. So, it’s it’s not possible. When did you when did you start feeling it as bad? Like did you feel like you should have stepped? No. Yesterday I hit my leg off the handlebars and I started feeling very very sore but it was very sore all day. So, but once it finished I thought maybe it’s only a small bruise that when I get home put ice on it and it’s finished but last night it was still very sore and doctor came and said oh yeah but you see in the morning and doctors just left now and he said it’s it’s not with a flat state it’s no problem but because of today being a very mountainous state he said it’s it’s not not good to continue so Steven Roach was out of the race his knee injury continuing to ruin his career which in 1987 had seemed unstoppable second again in Paris in 1990 and he was back in 1991. The organizers loved him for his devotion to their event and here he was launching an attack on the Caldez time trial. However, Tony Roinger, the rider who had come close to him in the zirro, was now the dominant man of this race. Roast tried his best up the climb and was beaten only by the Swiss rider and indeed by just a single second, a common margin for Roach in this event. Rose finished fourth overall and could take heart again. In Spain, Ro was again a winner in the Catalan week where he finished the 5-day race 3 seconds ahead of Manuel Fuerte. It was an indication he was on his way back. 12 days later, he was back in France in the Criterium International, a race which carried a lot of prestige if you won. Ro was never the leader of this weekend event. The first day being won by Frenchman Charlie Mate. A brief incursion into the countryside could have been avoided, but it made no difference. In the time trial, Mate faded and the stage was won by the Russian Slava Echimov. Ro was again proving his ability in this specialtity. He was only 2 seconds slower than Ekkimov over the 12 kilometers and that was enough to convert into a victory overall. He finished 18 seconds better than the Frenchman Gerard Rule. 1991 was looking good. But the tour to France was a disaster and he missed the call to the line in the team time trial. He was out of the race even though he argued he could continue until eliminated from the stage. But he was there again a year later and back with the Carrera team with whom he had shared his finest hour. Perhaps overall victory was now out of the question, but there was still the chance to win a stage and remind everyone you are still very much around. Roast launched a searing attack as the finishing line approached and with his talented turn of speed he hunted the rider in front who had attacked minutes earlier before a packed house he hauled him in and it looked good. The race was arriving in Holland from Belgium but the Vulcanberg finish was at the end of a long straight and the Frenchman Gil DeLeon had read it better. He caught Roach with enough time in hand over the rest to wait just a little before opening up for the line. Ro was tired and the stage for him was lost. Deleon won the day and Ro got second. But 10 days later and still in the same race, Ro was out for that win and no one would stop him this time. [Music] And this will be absolute music for Steven Roach. He will approve to everybody that he is not finished. He is still on great form. He is still one of the great riders of the tour of France. Professional till the end. He’s hacked those on. He clutches his head. He doesn’t believe it. And that the weather conditions. Well, we can’t believe that either. Bright eyes of Steven Roach reflecting his victory tonight on the podium and being congratulated here by Bernard Eno five times a winner of the tour to France. 12 years after riding his first tour to France, Ro faced up to his last. It was the 90th anniversary since the race was first held. It was a moving occasion and the popular Irishman chose his moments to say uravvoir to people like his friend Cladio Kapuchi from Italy last tour and a winner in 1987. The race was won by Miguel Injur for the third year but the Shonel Fo was now a lonely place. It was the end and Irish cycling could never be the same again. It was for me a most difficult interview with a rider who’d entertained us so well. Steven the Seanise for the last time. You’ve had some great memories here, some very sad ones. I mean, what do you feel like now? Well, it felt great. Everyone started saying it’s the last one. So, that’s you’re never going to come back. You’re not going to ride next year. Remember 87? You do, of course, but um you’ve always good and bad memories, but they’re all part of the career. So, you know exactly how Miguel and Jane feel today. See now the white [Music] tour is like ginormous as we say in cycling terms like it’s just absolutely unbelievable and with no disrespect or anything else towards the tour of Italy or the tour of Spain like um you get riders going to the tour of Spain who are preparing for the tour of Italy or you get riders coming to the tour of Italy who are preparing for the tour to France but on tour to France anybody who is anybody le creme de creme is in the tour to France and everybody’s there with the same mission and that is to help their team leader win uh the tour to France so um contrary to the other tour of Spain or Italy the big big guns are firing for the for the tour to France. So it makes it a little bit faster, a little bit harder. The mountains are always harder. Even though maybe the mountain stages in Italia are possibly identical or in in mileage wise and and difficulty, um the speed is always a little higher in tour of France simply because you have all the big guns firing together. [Music] [Music] The 1987 tour to France would start on the 1st of July. It would start in West Berlin for the first time in the race’s history. A history which goes back to the year 193. After a couple of stages on the German side of the French borders, it crossed into Strasborg and then headed due west through Epinol Tu and passing just beneath Paris where it would finish in 3 weeks time. It then continued to go across to the west of France. Once there, it would head south going down through Futuroscope Show and finally to Bordeaux. In the field this year, Robert Miller, the only British rider ever to win the King of the Mountains in this event. The big field by tradition usually finish in a big sprint at Bordeaux, but then they know after that the going gets tough. The race leaves Bordeaux heading on to Beayon where it goes into Po and into the Pyrenees. These magnificent pieces of granite which have so often shaped the tour winner of each year. The finish at Luzardi Den would then be an exit from the mountains. People like Phil Anderson could expect to have a rough time here. [Music] This is holiday time in France and as always the crowds will be at their thickest to watch the races in the mountains. The last week of any tour is always tough. Having climbed Mononton 2, it’s then into the Alps and Aldes itself. A finish at Lla, another mountain. Then the exit made via Morine on the Swiss borders and up towards Djang. This is where the race is certainly won or lost. Where riders make it or don’t. There are no favors in the mountains for any rider. The best man will take control. And then it’s on to Djon scene of the individual time trial, a train journey to south of Paris and the grand finale on the Shelise. In all, a total of 4,200 kilometers and the 1987 tour to France starting in West Berlin, a nation surrounded by the East. The prologue time trial of 6.1 kilometers. This was Phil Anderson started and finished in the Ker and Dom. The weather was fantastic. Phil Anderson riding in his seventh tour to France had worn the yellow jersey in 1981 and 1982. He is now trying to make a fast start in the opening effort of a long race. Phil Anderson was the first Australian ever to win a Mayo. He did it in 1981 and in 1982. In 1983, he climbed with the best and he finished in Paris in ninth place overall. [Music] Always a challenger in any tour to France, the man they call the kangaroo was a difficult prospect. And another man who’s starting among the favorites, Lauren Finong, the winner in 1983 and 1984. He hadn’t finished the race last year, 86. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Phil Anderson continued his effort. He would cross the line with a time of 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Good enough in the end for 63rd place. [Music] Lauren came home. His time too wouldn’t reach the mayo 7:36. But the man who would take the first mayio of the 87 tour, the Dutchman at Yella Naidam, riding for the super confi of Poland. Steven Roachman been watching everybody making their effort. Only three weeks ago, he was winning the zero ditalia. Now he was here for the tour to France. And with one big victory under his belt, did this one really matter? To Steven Roach, it did. [Music] The Irishman wearing number 11, a number which had won the tour to France before, now knew he was on a mission. Slipping through the gears on his streamlined time trial bicycle with memories perhaps of the Malle Rosa, the leader jersey of the Gio Ditalia in the back of his mind, he was now a star in his own right. In 1985, Ro was riding alongside the American Greg Lamond in the tour to France who was trying to attack his own teammate Bernard Eno to take over the leadership of the tour. Leamond was clearly told by his team manager, “You must wait for your team captain Eno.” Lemon didn’t want to, but he did. So, back to the 87 time trial. Rosh was doing extremely well. The time checks were saying he was close to stealing the first leader yellow jersey. Naidam had finished with the best time so far. Le Pekki was second. Roach hits the line third best time. So it had been an excellent start. No big rider wants to wear the lead as Mayo because then all of the riders chase you. Roach was lying in a very handy third place overall. 7 seconds behind Naidm and ahead of Bontmpe and Euro. Lauren Finon was only 72nd. Anderson 63rd. Jean Franis Benar was the best man placed in seventh. The tape itself was cut to start the tour officially next day outside the Brandenburg gate. The other side was East Berlin. This was a stage of 105 kilometers. There were 207 starters this year. The prize list was in excess of £600,000. For every stage win, you would receive £1,800 and a car. 20 nations were taking part. They were all grouped into their trade teams, 23 teams of nine riders on each one. Yellen was the man to lead the race for the first time. Mayo at least his briefly, but everybody knew yellow Naidam would not win this tour. He hates the mountains. But Naidam at this stage had plenty of credibility. His father Hank had been a top cyclist as well. The race stayed within the confines of the corridor. This race would only be seen in the west. Steven Roach was settling in now knowing he was in third place. Lauren Finan wasn’t too worried, although he’d lost a little bit of time in the prologue time trial. These are early days in any tour to France. Days which are normally left just to the sprinters to snatch the small time bonuses in the hope that for a while at least they will wear the leader yellow jersey. The big boys, the men who are thinking long term like Paris, try to keep out of trouble and just look after themselves well. Inevitably, even on roads as wide as this, there’s always the touch of wheels and riders go down. The dangers in the tour to France are always there and the race doesn’t wait if you’re lying in the road. The worst injured of the fallers here was the one rider who couldn’t continue. Stfano Giuliani of the Super Makarti Brienzolei Chat Dax team. The first retirement of the tour. But the sprints continued a fresh and this time coming up to the line it was another super complex rider Nico Vuven who was taking the stage out. The big spinter had landed the result in 2 hours 11 minutes and 33 seconds. But the new race leader because of the time bonuses was the rider who’d finished second in the time trial. He was now number one the first ever Polish man to lead the tour le Pierki. How fitting when you’re just next door to the Eastern Block nations. Bashun was up to second. Naidam was third. Bonte and Simon. Roach has slipped away to ninth. Now Bernard dropped seven places to 14th. Anderson 68th. Lon didn’t seem too worried about his current standing in the tour to France. He knows he can ride a time trial. He knows he can climb a mountain. He’s also managed by Sidil Gimar, a man who’s trained more winners of the tour to France than any other manager. So, he could place his faith in him as well. One of the most important stages for the strong teams of the Tour to France is the team time trial. It’s when all of the teams start together. The time is taken on the fifth member of the team to cross the line. There’s no good riding off by yourself because the watch keeps on running until that fifth man comes home. So the strong men are only as good as the fifth man on the squad. The times count towards the individual standings in the race, so they want a good time. Linon knows now a good time here could accelerate him up the overall classification. The system team are always a strong team here in this type of race. Mark Maddi, Ivon Maddio, Pascal Pong, Linon, they’re all in this race. The FGO team was in with a time of 4643. System were beating that time. This is a special skill in its own right. The riders having to ride in very close formation and place faith in their teammate. Steven Roach’s Carrera team was still to start. [Music] The team starting in the reverse order of the individual classification which means that Le Pekki squad will be the last to go. The distance 40 and a half kilometers or just over 25 miles and the ride is expected to cover this well inside the hour. Roach’s Carrera squad looking a tightlyk knit formation and riding very quickly indeed. Chance perhaps for Steven Roach to take over the Mayo. He was in the multicolored leaders jersey here of the combine competition. It’s a strange competition. It means you’re at the top of nearly all of the small competitions in the tour to France, including of course the race for the yellow jersey. Le Pekki’s squad were anxious now to try and defend the lead for the Polish men. Roaches Carrera’s squad were known for their ability in the team time trial. So to the Panasonic squad of Phil Anderson, rarely ever beaten at this discipline. They were being led here by Hank Lubeding with the long flowing locks. The arrival of system U. The cast team were already in and now system U are rewriting the leaderboard. Best time 45 minutes 27 seconds. So Linon’s team had done well. The 7-Eleven team, an American team, the only one in fact racing in Europe, had big names on their squad as well. But as a group, they were not noted for their talent. But they still needed a good time to give Andy Hamson and Ral Alkala a good start in the mountains. There were no hills on this course. It virtually started at sea level. It bleeped up to 35 m and finished at sea level. It was pure speed. The arrival of 7-Eleven, second best for the moment, 46 minutes and 12 seconds. Roach’s Carrera squad were looking very workmanlike out on the course. Time checks were saying they could win this. 4206 for Carrera and counting Delongo with the team who were already in. It was going to be a close run thing. And looking at the team, they hadn’t lost many if any of their riders. So they were proving their strength in depth as well. Now could they match the time of the Del Tongo team? It was going to be close and they were sprinting for it. Five riders to count. is the fifth man where where the clock is stopped. Delongo 4458, Roach’s Carrera team 4450. They’d won the stage by just 8 seconds. So an early stage win for Steven Roach and his Carrera boys. The happy days of the Jio Datalia or perhaps more correctly the happier days were set to continue. Overall though there had been no change. Le Pekki was still the leader of this tour by 13 seconds now with Roach still lying in third place. The Carrera team were second, third and fourth after the team time trial. Bernard 16th Anderson right up now to 25th and Fenon too had climbed up the overall classification. Le Pekki well known as an amateur rider is now making his impression as a professional in the tour to France. Steven Roach couldn’t be more but satisfied with the way the race had gone so far. The third stage of the race would now take the riders 219 kilometers from Carl’s Drur to Stoutgart. Germany have been an amiable host for this race. The crowds have been big, the weather have been glorious, and the racing have been excellent. A long time on the third stage, the big field kept together. There’s no reason for the forward race winners to attack. The spinters also are waiting for the finish. It’s pretty routine really. After an early third category climb which took the riders up to just 455 m, there was only ripples all the way to the finish at Stoutgot. [Music] Then a small breakaway succeeded and it was the Panasonic team of Phil Anderson who is trying to bring it all back together again. This was Eric Mler, the Swiss rider for Carrera. Could it be that soon they would have a yellow jersey on the shoulders of someone in the Carrera team? Casio D Silva of Sha Kelly’s cast team was also in this break in second place here. The two riders were now clear after 5 hours of racing. Charlie Mate was leading the chase behind. The small hills leading into the finish of Stutgot had helped the two leaders escape the big pack. Eric Mler known for his strength as a helper the same as Aasio Dilva rather than as a tall leader but right now he was heading for the Mayo Jean. Bernard Eno, a former five times winner, was now part of the organization of the tour. There was a massive crowd waiting to welcome the tour to France in Stoodgard. They saw two riders coming home first. Aasio Dasilda, a man who was born in Portugal but lives in Luxembourg, won the stage, but Ma 2 seconds later had done enough time over the rest to get the leader yellow jersey. In this small escape group, the best man was Phil Anderson, gaining over the other favorites of the tour. [Music] So, the tour found itself a new leader and he was on Steven Roach’s team. He now led the tour from Müller by 44 seconds. The main field came in, but they’d lost time. So MLA was the new leader. D Silva was up to fourth. M was fifth. But the time gaps were big to some of the other riders. Anderson was now 19th. Roach, Finanol and Hamner lost time. And this worried Roach. It concerns me just about. But if any more riders get away like like yesterday or if any of the riders that that were were away yesterday get away again, then it concerns even more. So on the Sunday 21 km from the finish the riders crossed in towards the finish at Strasborg they were now in France. The morning stage of some 79 km had taken the riders away from Stutgard to Forsheim and the stage winner there had been Herman Fison of Belgium. He’d finished a minute and 28 seconds ahead of the field. Thus there had been no change overall and the yellow jersey was still on the shoulders of Eric Mler. Again, the dangers of the day, a touch of wheels and a mass pileup, but none of the favorites were delayed and the race streaked on towards the end of the 112 km stage from Forsheim down into Strasborg. The Carrera team are working hard, not yet for Steven Roach, but for Eric Mler. And as the race sped on, one rider did get slightly ahead of the field. His name was Mark Sejon, a regular rider in the tour to France, also a Belgian. Sejon went on to win the stage while Eric Mler continued his lead in the Mayo Jeon. Overall, well, there was no change. The time gaps were still remaining the same. All of the riders on the last two flat stages finishing together. Rose Finon Hampson still a little bit off the pace. The sixth stage of the race encountered the first climbs of this year’s tour to France. The climb of first category mountain coming at round about 60 km on the 169 km stage between Strasborg and Epinol. Leon Dufur was the big mountain. Ral Alkala he was 2 years away from becoming the first Mexican rider to win a stage in the tour to France which he did when it went to Fron in Belgium in 1989. Right now, Eric Mler was building a big name for himself back home in Switzerland. Again, an active race and a small group had escaped, but the big pack were hunting them down. 58 seconds is not a big gap in the tour to France. It usually doesn’t make the finish. Ral Alkala was in the breakaway and determined that it would. They were all over the mountains now. Kristoff Leven, a young domestic for the system team and his team leader Lawren Finan was in the breakaway as well. [Music] 7-Eleven were hoping now for a big slice of publicity. Other riders in the breakaway were Dominguez of Spain, Duclo Lazelle of the Zed team, Bago Rutiman, Dvos Valet, Monada a Spaniard. There was no big reaction from the field. Ma was feeling that they couldn’t really damage his overall lead providing they didn’t get too far ahead. His main adversary up front really was Kristoff Leven. Quite clearly, Ral Alkala had planned a long escape. Slowly but surely, the gap opened. It was now almost 6 minutes. Eric Mler was in serious trouble. He was losing his overall lead if Leven got any closer. So, the Carrera team had to use a lot of energy up to try and limit the gains of the escape. Steven Roach was the only noty Carrera rider keeping off the front, saving his energy perhaps for the weeks that lie ahead. 8 minutes now. The gap had given the overall lead to Kristoff Leven. Nikki Rutman was driving the escape. Levven was sitting at the back dreaming of the Mayo Jean by the finish. Ralph Alkala who can climb was making good progress as well. Lauren Finon was discussing it with the Carrera team, but he had a problem. His young teammate Kristoff Leven could soon be in yellow. That was a happy thought. The Carrera team were now doing the job well. The gap was slowly coming down. The caretaker of the Mayojon, just keeping his nose clean, was not actually taking part in the chase. He was letting his teammates, his domestics, do the work. Ral Alka of Mexico was working hard, but Leven was still holding hopes of the Mayo. Alfa in his first tour to France in 1986 had finished 114th. But now any chance of getting high on the overall was fading. The gap was coming down. 12 kilometers to go to the finish it was a little bit more manageable. And then Kristoff Leven pulled a coup. He attacked. Kristoff had never won a stage of the tour to France until this day. He’d now taken his chance as he sped towards Epanau. The Carrera team were continuing to close in. It was now inside 3 minutes. This was a train in full flight. Ral Alkala was trying desperately to get on terms with Kristoff Levven. He’d gone off into second place. The gap to Alkala 121 to Ma 2 minutes 39. The day was being saved for the Swiss leader of the tour and still the crashes continued. The riders picking their way through fallen men. This is a tour to France which was clearly going to be unhappy for a lot of them. Number 127. There was Frank Hoster, a former winner of the green jersey for Fagore. Davis Finny, the big sprinter on the 7-Eleven team, was in trouble. Steve Bower, the Canadian rider. This crash had caught one or two of the bigger names. And that crash really hurt Finny. He had no time to worry about it. He just had to get on and ride. Riders who don’t finish the tour to France within the time limit simply get eliminated. And the man who would do the eliminating, Kristoff Leven. He got his stage win. Now he had to wait to see if he got the yellow jersey. The chase was still furious behind. Even Mlin now realized if he was going to keep his mayo, he had to give a hand himself. Ala had finished second. The main field came in 2 minutes and 30 seconds later. So Ma kept his lead. Leavan had come up to second place 36 seconds back. But the other teams now were getting an easy ride. For me, it will back far. But then I’m not the bus. But you’d unload it if you could. Oh, definitely. Not not so much to unload it, but it’s because a lot of other teams are just sitting in the wheels doing nothing and they will ride to the mountains like this in an armchair and then in the mountains they will not even say thank you. By stage 10 of the tour, Eric Matler had led now for 7 days as the race faced up to its first moment of truth. 87 and a half kilometers based at Somure and going to the futuristic town of Futuroscope. Sean Kelly was 7 minutes and 31 seconds behind, but he wouldn’t be too worried at this stage. Andy Hamson of the United States waiting for the mountains as well. He’d already won the Tour of Switzerland and the Tour of Italy. Steven Roach knew now that he could produce a good time here. He could really lay the foundations of a tour victory. Shan Kelly has already shown to us over the last couple of years he can ride the time trial now he can be a challenger as well as a man to race for the sprinters jersey. Roach who had started the race down the list lying now in 26th place overall had a lot of riders to start behind him. The course itself was undulating, starting at 30 m and climbing to over 135 m before it went along the ripples of the department of the Vienn and dropping down towards the finish at 90 m. It was a difficult route, just the sort of route in fact that suited Sha Kelly as he sped on his way. Charlie Mate, a future hope as a winner of the Tour to France, like indeed Steven Roach, had yet to prove he could do it. Andy Hamson in his first tour to France, had finished fourth. He knew he could do it. While Steven Roach had the confidence of knowing he’d just won the Jiro Ditalia Roach was on a flyer at every time check, it was clear if he could survive to the end, he was going to set the best time. The rider he was passing here was Jurgen Pettison of Denmark. his teammate Charlie Mate, another great rider at the time trial, was running Groch very close indeed at the time checks. Kelly was slipping off the pace just that bit. This is a full day’s entertainment, the time trial for the crowd because the riders keep coming by you all day, building in crescendo as the top men come through last. One of the favorites of course is Charlie Mate and the ride was coming out of those legs. Andy Hamston wasn’t doing quite so well either. Steven Roach or as the French call him Stefan Rush was doing a great ride. Hamston comes home for the United States in 7-Eleven, but his time would not set any world al light. 2 hours 4 minutes and 31 seconds. The best time already in was Sha Kelly with a 203. Neither time would feature in the end. Then the arrival of Steven Roach. Within the last 20 riders to finish, Roach had set the mark for them all to beat. 1 hour 58 minutes 11 seconds. That was the time now which nobody would reach. Steven Roach didn’t know it at this time, but he was laying the foundation for victory in the 1987 tour of France. Roach was in. Charlie Mate would finish second, 42 seconds slower. Yes, Biskibby will be a surprise third for Denmark, 53 seconds back. Robert Miller did a good ride as well, finishing 11th, but conceding 2 minutes and 34 seconds to Ro. Miller was a climber though he could take time back in the Alps and the Pyrenees, which still lay ahead. and Steven Roach knew it. The mayo of the tour to France had had the sort of ride you don’t want when you lead the race and had finished only 16th and as a result now his yellow jersey would go on the shoulders of Frenchman Charlie Mate who finished with the second best time. [Music] So what Kristoff Leven couldn’t do, his teammate Charlie Motty succeeded. He claimed the Mayojorn in the tour to France and the race had only been going 11 days. Steven Roach had climbed up dramatically to sixth now. 3 minutes 23 seconds back. Alkala still hovered. Finan didn’t improve much. Kelly was up to 36th. Back on the open road, the late race left heading now for Shomé. This was stage number 11 and Marshall Gayon who won the stage claimed the yellow jersey. Mate hadn’t lasted long. Steven Roach was now heading down towards the first rendevous with the mountains. The Pyrenees feeling very content with the way the race was going. He was lying sixth overall, 3 minutes 45 seconds and ahead of the majority of the favorites for this year’s tour. The rides were now heading down to Bordeaux. Always a long stage, 228 kilometers this one. And early on, the riders very rarely race. A chance for two Irishmen to have a friendly chat. It’s always a long hot stage when you dive south of Bordeaux and the greatest wine region in the world. And the riders tend to always take time out, but not when you have a problem. Shaun Kelly, an innocent enough fall at the back of the field. His collarbone was broken. Sha Kelly was out of this year’s tour to France. [Music] These were poignant pictures of the world’s number one cyclist for many years. Nobody in the tour wanted to see Kelly leave like this. You’re all right, boy. [Applause] The stage itself was won by the American Davis Finny, but it did nothing to alter the overall situation. Gayon and Mate still maintain their top two positions. And so the riders continued now towards their rendevous with the Pyrenees heading away from Bayon and towards Poe. 219 kilometers and the mountains awaited. Andy Ham of the United States was in a rush. He loved the mountains. So too did the leader of the king of the mountains, Ral Alkala. Steven Roach had no fears either. He’d proved his worth in the time trial. Now he could prove his worth in the mountains again. Little Charlie Mate back in the leader yellow jersey. He would struggle. Lon Finon a twice a winner now wanting to reclaim the good old days. [Music] And Lucho Herrera, as always, he’d lost a lot of time on the flat stages, but now he was in his back garden. [Music] Share and share alike, unless it’s the Mayo of the Tour to France. John Franis Bernard has made no secret he wanted it. The race went on stage 14 from Po to Luzard Don. 166 kilometers and the last 20 kilometers are all uphill. The race leaving Po and climbing over the Col de Marlong onto the next climb the Kobo Bisque and then onto the K de Bordere and finally onto the Lidon climb itself. The cold obo beast takes the riders to 5,600 ft. The finished climb will be at 5,610 ft. And while the favorites watched themselves, a favored man broke away. The only Norwegian in the race, Daged Otto Lorson, a former paratrooper who once broke his legs so badly they said he would never walk again. to prove them wrong. He’s about to win this big stage of the Tour to France. Lawren Finon 8 minutes and 44 seconds behind, needed big time now. Andy Hamson, he was happy and thought his teammate was ahead. Steven Roach with the favorites all around him had no reason yet to attack. And so the scene was set at the top of the mountain. Titty Clavarola of France was trying to make an impression and win the king of the mountains competition as he came over the top of the cold obisk. Turn von Bleet of the Netherlands wasn’t so far behind. The cold obisk arriving in the route some 76 kilometers from the finish. A real chance now to break the field up. Dag Otto Lorson was now joined by a group of riders. Lucho Herrera was there. Number 121 was Pedro Munoz of the Fagore team, a team which Steven Roach used to race for. And just in front of him there, Charlie Mate, number 68. Over the top of the Cold Orbisk, a long twisting descent. This isn’t for the nervous. The mist you can see for yourselves. The riders must pick their way down carefully. The big names had watched each other through the Pyrenees. That’s when they could see them and they were keeping an eye on them all the way down the obese. They all knew that the real race would happen on the final climb to the summit, almost 20 km straight uphill. This is the scene of Roach’s only stage triumph until he won the time trial stage in 1987 in the tour to France. his very first triumph on the cold obisk down into the valley over the small second category climb of the cold de Bordair. They were now heading for the little town of Lutz San and that’s where the climb begins. Dagot Lurson was putting in his move for the moment at least. He was joined by Titty Clavarola of the RMO team. Clavola known for his great climbing ability. They call him the eagle of vazil which is on the outskirts of Grenobyl. Turbon bleet certainly not noted for his climbing ability was having a special day. All of the favorites though were staying huddled together. These were nervous moments. They were watching and waiting. Even Andy Hamston, who would be a challenger in this race, was still waiting for the moment to move. So too, Robert Miller, almost 7 minutes behind overall. But the pressure of the big climbers slowly but surely dismissed many of the big bunch. Dagger Otto Lorson himself now is beginning to put himself into a springboard position. He’d come up to turn von Vleet who could really not lift the pace much more. Although one big final effort brought him back up to Dag Otto. Andy Hamson who one day win the famous mountain climb to Al Duez was noted as a great climber. He was a danger man. He was climbing alongside Lucho Herrera, Robert Miller. These were the men who could climb mountains like angels in 1987. And even number 9891 here, Pablo Wilchers of Colombia. He was another but they couldn’t catch on this day Dag Otto Lurson who won the greatest and only stage of the tour of France as far as he was concerned. Without doubt the best win of his career. The Norwegian had finished seven seconds ahead of Lucho Herrera. Hamson had taken third. The changes were there for all to see. Now mate, Bernard, Rosh, Zimmerman, Alkala up into eighth. They were all moving up the overall classification because we are now midway through the race. And leaving the mountains behind us, the heavens opened on the road to Blac, the 15th stage from to 164 kilometers. This was torrential rain. The roads would become flooded and the riders still continue to race through it. Fought with danger, the riders put on a great show. This was the greatest race in the world, the Tour to France. But for the men thinking long term, they certainly wanted to keep their noses clean. At the time, Alan Piper, the comical Australian, said they were up to their axles in bleep bleep because the sewers had burst. But despite the conditions, the race was very much under pressure. They were out to crack the spirit of Charlie Mate. They didn’t stop racing just because the heavens had opened. Loving was a man trying to push home his advantage. And the yellow jersey of Charlie Mate tried to keep him under control. At the finish in a very dangerous sprint indeed, it was the German rider Ralph Gol who snatched the stage ahead of L. Clerk and Martin Early of Ireland got third. Overall there was no change in Charlie Mate would carry the Mayojourne to the rest day and the very next day stage 18 the riders would rendevous in the department of the V clus with the big mountain Levantu the same mountain which 20 years earlier had claimed the life of the British cyclist Tom Simpson 164 riders now faced up to the time trial. [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] [Music] Steven Roach knew he had to do a good ride to match the one he’d done in the previous time trial of Futuroscope. He knew the crowd would be on his side. Pedro Delgado, the angel from Spain. He knew too this is where he must play one of his key cards. He was one of the best climbers in the world. Lon Finon, twice a winner of the tour, had to stay with the pace, which is what he was failing to do. The Colombian rider Fabio Pal was in with an hour and 21 minutes. Lauren Finon was conceding more than seven here. Luchio Herrera, according to the time checks, was setting the best pace on the climb at this point. It was expected and Pedro Delgado wasn’t far behind him either. They were neck and neck. [Music] Delgado climbed up towards the top of the 1,910 m of Monvon 2. He was going to run the best time at the finish. Terrera very close indeed. The Tour to France head of the general classification was beginning to get a little bit tight. And this man here who once won a Porsche from his sponsor when he promised a good ride in the Tour to France was now heading up the mountain. Jean Franis Bernard was doing this for France and for himself. Herrera’s time was surviving so far. 1 hour 21 minutes and 23 seconds. Steven Roach was living with them, but only just. Already the time had gone by of Herrera. Roach wasn’t going to win this climb. Roach was now riding just to stay in the hunt for the tour to France. Never mind take the lead. He rode with all the strength he could muster to the top of Mon 2. [Music] Herrera was the best time thus far. Roach came in fourth fastest and there was still more to finish. Jean Franis Bernard gaining on Herrera’s time all the way up the mountain. The best time 1944. Herrera was now second. Charlie Mate wasn’t going to get near that. And so Charlie Mate’s yellow jersey was now in danger of moving over to another Frenchman, Jean Pasu Bernard. And that confirmed it. It just moved. [Music] So the overall situation did change. Jean Francois had taken the lead. He’d now been peding just short of 80 hours to get the Mayo. Ro was up to second place and Mate was third. Delgado was fourth, Herrera fifth, Miller six. They were all climbers. There are plenty of climbs still to come. Wait and see how he is in the mountains. And I thought there are three really really hard mountain stages to come. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And I think uh it’s on one of these days that I must watch him and and see how he is. And if he if I see it one day he’s weaker then almost go for it on one of these days because there’s no point in going to DJ at the time trial next Saturday and hoping to get a minute and out of him because it’s not on. So Jean Francois Bernard had taken over the Mayo Jean Roach who said to me at the time I didn’t win the tour today but I hadn’t lost it either was at 2 minutes 34 seconds but this was still a good tour for Steven Roach as Paul Sherin here pinning on his jersey well making it just that little bit smaller. Roach was losing weight. Pedro Delgado was still there still dreaming of victory at 3 minutes and 56 seconds. Well, it may look pretty on him, but Steven Roach had other ideas for it. But now is the time that now now if we see we have we had he’s on a bad day or we can we can leave him behind a little. Nobody waves now. So we move on and now staying in the department of the drum as the riders covered 185 km in Valria to Vard Dons. There was still 164 riders surviving in the tour to France. Jean Francois Bernard had achieved one thing. He’d got the Mayo. Now all he had to do was keep it. This was a hilly race, especially in the last 90 kilometers with two first category climbs and two seconds and a third. It was going to be a hot day for Jean Francois Bernard. Pressure is on right from the start. Although Jean Francois Bernard’s team tried to keep it under control, all was going according to plan for the number one rider as he pedal along now thinking just of holding this race together as long as he possibly can. The climbs began. They began with the climb up to 1140 m of the colder tool. Lauren Fenon a little bit off the pace overall was still with the leaders. Steven Roach though was beginning to get ready to turn the screw. Delgado will be happy to do it with him. Mark Madio, the champion of France. Delgado was the man to launch the attack. He wasn’t waiting any longer. This was his terrain, the mountains he loved. And trouble for Jean Franis Bernard. a jammed chain. The yellow jersey was stopped by the roadside. Everybody was looking and wondering where he was. The fact was they wouldn’t see him again till the finish. And when they did, he wouldn’t need that yellow jersey. It was a diabolical service for Jean Francois Bernard. He was in all sorts of trouble and now a long way behind as the riders began the last climb before the descent to the finish. It was a race between Pedro Delgado and Steven Roach. It was becoming a one-on-one battle. While further down the mountain, Jean Fazaris Bernard must have wondered what was happening. In the Tour to France, you simply aren’t allowed to make a mistake. The riders always punish you for it, and if they don’t, the race does. With broken morale, Jean Faso Bernard was now behind the race. While up front, Eddie Scapers, the great friend of Steven Roach, the man who helped him in the Gio datalia, was also on the climb. But in the sprint for the finish, Pedro Delgado outspinted Roach by just 3 seconds. He got the stage win, but for Steven Roach, he got the Mayojorn. Roach was now seeing his main adversary for the 1987 Tour to France finish 3 seconds in front of him. He may not have known it at this moment in time. The job couldn’t have been better done by the two top riders. They couldn’t have imagined that Jean Francois Bernard would finish four minutes and 16 seconds back in a group which also contained Andy Hamston. And by consequence of that, Steven Roach was now ahead of Charlie Mate by 41 seconds. Delgado was third a minute and 19 seconds back. Poor Jean Fra Bernard was now fourth. Stage 20. The ride is now looking straight down the valley here of the Isair as they face up to 201 kilometers taking them from Vard Dons down to Al Duez, a mountain on the right which carries them up to 1,880 m. But on the way they would also climb the viciously hard Cuc. And there’s plenty more of other little hills as well. Steven Roach knew he would have a tough day to defend that yellow jersey, especially from Pedo Delgado. This man was popular in Spain, popular in France, and he wanted the yellow jersey. The 152 riders now faced up to three very, very tough days in the French Alps before going north up to Djon for the time trial. Pedro Delgado knew he had to get the lead and he had to be well ahead of Steven Roach, otherwise he would surely lose this tour in the time trial at Djon. So you must attack. The first 30 kilometers of the stage taking them down to the town of Vere are all downhill, but after that you start climbing steadily until you reach the finishing line. It was a typically warm day in France in the height of July. The weather to suit Delgado or Roach. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] So far, nobody had attacked. The climbers were watching each other. They knew the battle must come soon, surely between Steven Roach and Pedro Delgado. They weren’t counting on an attack by Federrico Esave of the BH team. He wasn’t going to affect the overall lead at the moment. and he built up a big lead of 8 minutes and 15 seconds over the group Mayo Jean the group Steven Roach. The big boys were waiting for their chance to attack. Ech was simply the pawn hunting for a car and 1,500 of prize money. Lucho Herrera was still the leader in the king of the mountains and that would make him a big hero back home in Bogatar. Delgado at this point wasn’t looking like a man frisky enough to attack. But as always, showdown is on the mountain of the Alp Duez. It’s a shrine for cycling, and as the climb starts, the big men always attack. Herrera and Delgado were no exception. Steven Roach knew the climb, too. Now, could he control them? He was certainly making the effort. Delgado couldn’t hold Herrera who accelerated into one of the many herpin bends. There was no sign of Charlie Mate who was only 41 seconds behind Steven Roach. He was now losing that for sure. Delgado at a minute 19 seconds back was hoping to wipe out not just Mate but also the man in yellow. Roach. Roach was now in trouble. The pressure of the day was getting to him. Delgado could sense it and was attacking as best he could. One by one, he was picking the early attackers off. He was climbing a lonely trail along the herpins of Aldz. This was his moment. He even found the legs to ride back up alongside the man in the polka dot jersey, Lucho Herrera, who during this period of his career was the finest climber in the world. Rose continued to climb on his back wheel at Marino Lacereta, another great mountain climber. [Music] Like a piece of discarded string lying on the mountain. There was thousands of people on the herping bends to cheer the man to the top. Fuerte was second on the road now, but the gap between Delgado and Ro a minute 20 seconds. Delgado was the new leader of the tour by a single second and gaining seconds now. He wouldn’t know he’d done enough to take the Mayojour, but remember he needed at least 2 minutes to win this tour on Steven Roach. He couldn’t face up to the time with less than that in hand, and he knew it. He continued to climb to make progress, still picking off those early escapers who were now sold. Delgado was playing every card he had, gritting his teeth and climbing the mountain. Other riders were recovering and trying to reach him. Lucho Herrera had been dropped and was coming back up towards the little town of Huez where the riders will see for the first time the summit. And it’s still a long way away. Herrera climbs back into the picture. Delgado might be happy. He could do with a breather. Ahead of these two riders were Federrico Ech of the BH team and his teammate Fuerte. They were separated on the road, but that wasn’t the tour to France. This was the tour to France. Pedro Delgado trying to outd distance Steven Roach. He’s made such an effort he was now beginning to show signs of cracking. Had he made the effort just too soon? Could Roach climb back into this picture? For the moment, at least his mayo isn’t his anymore. [Music] On a mountain this long, even for a climber, the body does strange things. You feel good, you feel bad, you feel good again. And as the top came closer, Delgado once more was feeling good. [Music] At the finish, Pedrico Ech got the victory. Then he could sit down and watch everybody else fall into the arms of their helpers. The watches were started. Many eyes were looking for Roach. Some eyes were looking for Delgado. All eyes were looking for who would wear the Mayo at the end of the day. And 3 minutes 42 seconds down and counting. Pedro Delgado arrives in seventh position. Now he needs 1 minute and 19 seconds to take the Mayojon. Steven Roach, your time starts now. It’s a long way up to the summit of Alderez and when it comes it’s such a relief. But for Steven Roach, it wasn’t quick enough. 15th place. The time gap 1 minute 34 seconds. Pedro Delgado was the new leader of the Tour to France. The Mayo was jumping from shoulder to shoulder. This was a classic race. From Jean Francois Bernard to Steven Roach to Pedo Delgado. Just who would win this tour? There is still two more days in the mountains as well. 27’s the limit. [Music] So Delgado was the new leader by a scanned 25 seconds from Roach and 2 minutes 2 seconds from Bernard who was back up to third. Roach was smiling and happy to sign autographs. In his heart, he was saying, “I still haven’t lost this race.” John Fazard Bernard. Well, he always found it difficult to smile at best of times, but now really his third place was no better than he would get. Delgado knew he still needed more time and stage 21 could give it to him. It was a killer. So the scene set for showdown to Lela, a mountain high in the Alps where Steven Roach and Delgado would do battle. [Music] The mountains would start almost immediately from Borg Guazison, climbing via the Culder to the top of the Civier, 2,640 m. They descend and climb again to the top of the viciously cruel Culde Madalan. And once you come down that, you battle to 1,970 m. They call it La Plania. [Music] The scene was set. The mountains were ready. The actors were there, too. It was a memorable day for myself. And looking back on it, like I just kind of uh take my hat off to myself for the how cool I stayed and how calculated I was in that very same day because it’s very difficult to see the tour to France just going away from you. Pedro Delgado was now the latest man in yellow and as the race leader, it was his job to lead the field. Slowly but surely the 148 survivors of the tour were becoming fewer and fewer. Volfon was still in the league group. So too, of course, was Lewis Herela on the cold. Golivier, always a fast climb. The top riders stayed more or less together. This wasn’t a case of defending your lead for Pedo Delgado. He simply had to gain more time over Steven Roach. The time trial at Djang was not far away. Now Ro will be happy to leave it exactly as it is. Confident in the time trial, Delgado wouldn’t get near him. Fabio Perah, another great Colombian climber. The mountains of the Alves they say are all so different to the Pyrenees and I suppose they are. The climbs here though can be very very tough. The tempo continued. Delgado kept the pressure on. Roach was clearly hurting. Jean Francois Bernard was still there dreaming of better than third place. The colder laadelan one of the hardest climbs in the tour to France at the best of times. What many people don’t actually know is that before the climb to Llania had actually attacked Delgado. We gone over that day. We gone over the Gibbier and the Medalin and um I remember after the Gibby the Galibia in uh Delgado was a bit isolated from his teammates. So I thought well here’s a way to here’s the ideal opportunity now to actually put a bit of distance between myself and himself. So I attacked and got away with a group and um I was about a minute and a half up I think starting off at the Kod Madlin and uh but unfortunately Delgado got a bit of got a few teammates back and helped them and he caught me just after the descent of the Ka Medalen which is only about 10 km before the foot of the K left lion. So, of course, I couldn’t recover like in after 80 80 kilometers in in riding on my own. And uh Dado knew this. He knew that if he had waited a little bit, I would recover and it would be difficult getting rid of me. So, he thought, well, if I go straight away, well, he’d be in difficulty. So, he didn’t make any mistakes. He attacked and it wasn’t difficulty. But I knew that if I try and going with going with him, I won’t last to the top. So, I said, “Okay, let him go.” So the pace was hoting up now. Some 15 kilometers to the finish. It all uphill. Delgado had recovered from the attack by Steven Roach, but now he had to attack him. Lucha Herrera wanted perhaps just to win the stage. Steven Roach is paying close attention now to the whereabouts of the Mayo Jean. Jean Francois Bernard was finding a place just that little bit too hot. By the end of the day, he would lose another three minutes. Two riders are broken clear, Lauren Finon and Anelmo Fuerte. They gambled that nobody would be interested in them. Everybody was watching Delgado. So, I let him go. I let him get a minute, a minute and 10, a minute and 20, a minute and 25. Then I thought, well, I got to kind of start moving here now. So I held him at 125 and I always remember like how how calculated I was and how cool I was. I just let him there. I plotted along keeping him at the same 120 130 and I thought well what I’ll do is now I’ll leave him there at 120 and with 4 km to go I’ll just give it everything. That way he will have no he think he’s 1 minute 20 up. So he say 120 up plus the 1 minute he already has in hand is 220. Coming into the final time trial with 2 minutes 20 in hand. Roach won’t beat me. So he he wasn’t happy with that. So I thought well I let him think that and then with 4 km to go then I would give it everything. So it means that in the last 4 km he’ll only have maybe one maybe two time checks. So um uh and by by the time he actually gets there he’d be too late to the finish. So and I’d be coming back at him very very fast. This is dramatic stuff. Now Peru Delgado had gained more than 2 minutes but he was now losing that gain. Martin Ramirez. Well, Delgado had caught him, but Ramirez was hanging on. That wasn’t a good sign. Delgado was getting tired. Steven Roach continued to come up the mountain, keeping a steady tempo and calculating his finishing time. He was doing just enough. Delgado already in the leader yellow jersey wouldn’t know that Roach was actually catching him up. The gap was now down to just 24 seconds between the two top riders. At one stage it had been in excess of 2 minutes. Ro continued to suffer. A man had won the tour of Italy could now see himself winning the tour to France, but he had to get to the top of La Plania with enough time in hand to take the lead in the final time trial. He was doing it an incredible tempo. Rosh was racing himself into total exhaustion. The French television had uh two cameras. They had one camera on La Finon and one camera on Delgado. So there was no camera left for myself. So nobody knew where I was. Everyone knew I was behind Elgato. So for all the journalists, they thought, well, the tour is over, sayi, because the roach is behind. Roach will never be able to get back this time in the time trial. Delgado was in defiant mood. It was now up to a minute. With about 4 km to go, I got a time check where he was about it was 1 minute 15 seconds and just kind of went into overdrive and I was just like a man possessed. I don’t know where I got the strength from that day. I just became a different man in the last 4 km. I just all the energy I’ve been storing up going up that hill just keeping Delgado at 1 minute and 20 seconds just exploded. And for those last 4 km I was just possessed. I didn’t know where was I. I just said what I want to do is get as close to to him as I can before the stopwatch stops in the line and then see what happens. Ramirez had been dropped by Delgardo and replaced by Fabio Parah. Delgado now had a very good pacemaker. Finan and Fuete were fighting a private battle. They were approximately 40 seconds ahead of the next two on the road and over a minute and a half ahead of Steven Roach. Parah decided he would go alone to take third place. Delgado was definitely tiring. Would his time gap be big enough at the finish to win the tour to France? Because that’s what it meant. One kilometer to go for Pedro Delgado. He had tried. He had the gap of over two minutes. He’d yo-yoed and now he was hanging in. And that was about the word at the top of the mountain. Lonfinon was winning the stage for France ahead of Anelmo Fuerte of Spain. Here is the start of the drama of today’s deour of France. Again, Pedro Delgado has flipped Steven Roach on the climb. But remember, at one point he had a minute and a half. And just who is that rider coming up behind? Because that looks like Roach. That looks like Steven Roach. It’s Steven Roach has come over the line. He almost caught Pedro Delgado. I don’t believe it. What a finish by Steven Roach. We never knew he was that close. Steven Roach has risen to the occasion so well. He almost caught Pedro Delgado on the line. Surely Paul Sherwood Steven Roach is now going to win this tour to France. Well, what an incredible finish by Steven there. Who could have imagined that coming up coming up those last few kilometers, he must have pulled everything out. He he let Delgado go at the bottom. Delgado did the same thing yesterday. He attacked and uh and cracked towards the top of the climb and Steven just paced himself and pulled him back incredibly over the last few kilometers of this climb. Fantastic ride there. Well, I’ve never ever in my life seen a reaction to a client like that. And Roach has found strength he never knew he had. I only actually saw him. I got no time because I didn’t I didn’t want any like but um I just saw him when I came around the last corner with about 300 yds to go. I just saw this the cars and the gather and I just I was confused. I thought like I was coming back. It would have been maybe 30 seconds behind them maybe, but I didn’t think I would have been just 4 seconds behind them. And I was really, you know, I was I was possessed. Delgado finished fourth, 57 seconds behind the lead of 4 seconds later, Roach was there. I was out there making an incredible effort to get across the line and everyone wanted to know where where did he come from and nobody wanted to help me off my bike. So like everyone just swarmed me on top of me and I just went just fell over and then I was bad. I remember because I was actually fat at the foot of the the finishing podium and there were spectators and everybody up on top of it and journalists of course I was lying on the ground and everyone was afraid to move me and journalists were climbing up all over this this this um kind of scaffolding and the scaffolding was weighing. So, the brilliant fight back by Steven Roach. He should now have been second at 29 seconds, but a 10-second penalty, but taking an illegal feed on the way put him 39 seconds back of Delgado. Even so, an exhausted Roach knew now he could win the tour to France. His greatest asset was always his powers of recuperation. He had plenty of time to do that. Delgado knew now he wasn’t going to win the tour. [Music] Steven Roach gulping for oxygen. At least he got him out of giving all the interviews a chance to make a quick escape in the ambulance. Delgado not looking exactly a happy man pulling on the race leaders Mayo Jean. He knew his time gap to Roach was simply not enough. when I really became conscious of how bad I was was when the doctor came along and started putting this silver um ambient around me. In saying that though, I I felt confident that there was it would be okay. I was in a I was in a bad way and um I remember then that they put me on a stretcher and put me into the the ambulance and I just started coming on down bit by bit. Went to the hospital and they just kind of checked me over and then sent me home. So the overall situation confirmed 39 seconds. The gap morning like new like new. No problem escalating. Just sore legs but that’s that’s normal. I think um will today be okay for you or do you think you’ll have an edge or no think it’s I’m a strong boy. Yeah. There you go. There was three or four calls the next day. So he there was it was going to be very difficult for me. So I but my plan was to actually hit Delgado again because I thought well after doing what I did what happened yesterday uh him seeing me bad if I can really hit him hard today like he won’t sleep again for another two nights before the time trial. And um that’s really what I wanted to do and I actually did it. I attacked him a few times and I almost got away from him at one stage except for he he got a help from a helping hand from a friend at one stage from Marino Marino Legeretta. But um uh and he caught me on top of the the call the um Jupan I think it was and then I just took off on the top of Jup plan just took off and I I went down at the scent like I was I won’t say possessed because I I was so cool going down it like I went down it and I looking back on this day I just like didn’t even go I didn’t even have one near miss like I went down that descent as if I had gone down it every day of my life and I knew every corn on it but I didn’t know every corn on it I just calculated it and um I I I put 18 seconds into him and that was my kind of stamp on the envelope to say well listen Pedro you know it’s not over yet and then that was it. So Roach had defended himself well in the last day in the Alps mastering everything Delgado had thrown at him and racing down towards the finish he would get second place behind Eduardo Shozas who was the stage winner. Roach now was laying the foundations of the first ever Irish victory in a tour to France. 43 seconds behind the stage winner, Roach came in and then there was a short wait and an unexpected time gain over the Mayo Jean Pedro Delgado. In all 18 seconds before Delgado finished, he’d lost that little bit of time. So you see the time penalty yesterday didn’t matter at all. So Roach would start the final time trial at Djon with just 21 seconds to find over Pedro Delgado. The race distance 38 kilome and the clock wouldn’t lie. That day was um like it’s many time trials I’ve ridden in my career. I get myself in such a a psychological state that I wouldn’t even know my own father if he came along and and said hello to me. And um I think that was possibly one of the secrets to my time triing abilities. I always go out on the surface before the morning of of the time trial. So I went out on my normal bike. I didn’t want to ride my my actual um time trial bike. I went out on it and I was just my I remember my following car was behind me and I saw saw so many people but didn’t see anybody. I was just like I was possessed. And I remember I came back into my hotel and I I met my mechanic Patrick at the at the car when I came back and I said to him, “I want a 54 uh 44. I want a 12 18 sprockets behind. I want to use that bike and I’m going to use those tires.” And I remember making the mechanic saying, “I think a 44 is too big for that hill.” 44. That was it. I always remember getting up into the starting box on the uh before taking off and um knowing that the guard was off behind me and I was just empty, full of emptiness. Steven Roach launched into the most important time trial of his career. starting 2 minutes ahead of Pedro Delgado. I just had nothing else in my mind except every corner of that time trial and every I knew everywhere I was going to gain time or everywhere I could have gained time and nothing was going to change my my plan. It didn’t matter what time I got, I was going to beat that guy progressively. I wasn’t going to go out and give him a good hard start or whatever. I was going to go out and progressively beat him. And um like I was just uh until I crossed the finishing line that day I was just possessed. Pero as he was known made his departure still affording the crowd a smile. He was a very popular man. In his heart he knew he couldn’t match Steven Roach in a time trial. But could he just get a time only 20 seconds slower because then he would win the tour to France. It became a battle of two men separated on the road by two minutes. There was even a third category climb in the middle over the coat deval Suzong. And then it was all downhill to the finish. In all 38 kilometers, the crowd was enormous. But even the rain was beginning to fall. Even the rain was sad for Delgado. Roach now was indicating at all of the time checks he was pulling clear, but perhaps not by the big margins at this stage he’d expected. But there was time to build. Delgado was defiant. He liked his Mayojon. He wanted to keep it. This was the climb itself before they climbed to the height of 525 m and then you can turn the pedals quickly down to the bottom. Already Steven Roach was the new leader of the tour to France. Every pedal rev now was a gain. Roach had just 16 kilometers to go to enjoy the tour to France. Pedro Delgado was living through the most torid period of his life. The long straight road must have been so disheartening because he couldn’t see three minutes up it and that was the difference between them. Now 8 km to go. Roach was moving further and further ahead. His team car behind of course knew it and they were telling him. It made little consequence now, but Jean Francois Bernard was ahead of them both by a long way and would win the stage. But for Delgado, he was catching the nasty portion of the weather. The skies were not on his side. One little rise before the plunge down to the bottom. Roach was inspired and being driven on now to win the tour to France. All the way down the long straight now. Roach knew what the prize was and it wasn’t just the stage victory. It was the victory, the most noted victory in his career. [Music] Jean Francois Bernard was in with the best time. Ro was now in with the second best time. And nobody expected Delgado to arrive with the third best time. Everything that Roach had planned for the last five days had worked out perfectly. He defended when he needed to. He attacked when he had to. Now he had done it in the time trial at Djon. He’d won the tour to France. Delgado continued to come in more than 3 minutes had gone by. Now Delgado crosses the line only seventh quickest of the day and 2 minutes 45 seconds behind Jean Frasar Benar. More importantly a minute and 1 second behind Ro. He was now second behind by 40 seconds. Lydia and Steven, well, they were happy at least. I think so. Mayo was back on the shoulders of Steven Roach. And with just the big day out in Paris to come, it was going to stay there. The Eiffel Tower, the greatest sight for any cyclist completing the hardest sporting event in the world. And for the first time in history, and this event is plenty of that. It started in 1903. An Irishman was coming home with the Mayojourne on his shoulders. And what a double. There aren’t many people ever won the tour of Italy and the tour to France in the same year. The shel is always a lap of honor for the winner of the tour to France. He’s rarely attacked and this was also the case. It’s a chance for others to take a stage. And for Jeff Pierce of the United States, it was going to be a day he remembered well too. A third stage win for 7-Eleven after Davis Finny at Bordeaux and Dagot to Lurson at Luzard Den. Jeff Pierce on the Shelise. The Massfield comes over behind and the winner of the tour to France, Steven Roach of Ireland. 1987 was certainly his year and they’d all come to enjoy it with him. Roast had won the tour by 40 seconds, the second smallest margin in the history of the event. Jean Frasaris Bernard had finished third. So Roach had it all to say. [Music] [Music] [Applause] Soon you say has welcomed home an Irish winner of the tour to France. Just like Milan in Italy welcomed home an Irish winner of the tour of Italy. Steven was magic. He was now without doubt the finest bicycle racer in the world. Everybody came to see him come home. Everybody wanted to shake his hand and everybody said what everybody felt. [Music] [Applause] Ro had stopped Dublin. And I bet when he was a milkman, he never thought he’d do that. They turned out in the tens of thousands. He shook hands with people he never thought he’d stand in the same room as. So Steven Roach became the first sportsman to be given the freemanship of the city of Dublin. And that says it all. is the 58 second. [Applause] France Miteron, president of France and behind him, Steven Roach, winner of the tour to France. The great rider Eddie Merks always said Steven Roach could win this race and he was right. Now what does he think? [Music] for [Music] [Music] particular defense. Steven hardly ever needed somebody to help him in the race. The strange thing about him was you never really knew where he was in the pack. You thought you knew. You’d seen him two or three minutes before. Then the break was announced and then up the road Steven Roach was in the breakaway. And that’s just the way he rode. He had a nose for the good brakes. He time trial. He climbed the mountain. He went through the big bunches. He could read the race, too. and people just like him because he’s he’s very approachable and he’s been a great John Crantion. [Music] host. Fore [Music] speech. the character. [Music] Steven was was one of the all-time greats and he was a he was a joy to watch. Um to see Steven on the bike when he was was riding well. Um he was poetry emotion. He had a beautiful style. Um a real pedler and when he was riding well it was a you know privilege to be there and to watch him at at some of the events. My first impressions of him were pretty good. He was always very uh aware of you being there, aware of what you’re doing professionally, always willing to help you uh in any way he could. Really he was a perfect subject. Foreom [Music] difference. [Music] Steven seemed to have enormous enormous amount of strength for the for the type of uh build he is. Um you know the output he had was uh uh was fabulous. U although you know he probably had some injuries uh which maybe related that a bit. He was a little bit on the frail side. But uh if you go down to his career like he had a fabulous career and um the year that he won the uh the three the two eventually tour of France and world championships like that was uh that was an unbelievable year and uh there’s very very few only Mercy equal that. So in 1987 as Roach climbed to the top of the cycling tree how did he view his rivals of the day? Let’s start with Greg Lemon the American. Greg was a an excellent writer. I think um I think that his accident probably done him an awful lot of harm in the sense that uh the Greg Lemon before his accident who was a Greg who’s a writer who was used to maybe pig for a tour through tour of to France but he was capable of winning many other classics and many other races and I I admired that Greg Lemon but then the Greg Lemon then when he came back after his accident he was a rider who basically only rode through to France and I possibly lost a little bit of respect for him in that that for that maybe but the Greg on I I remember would be the days he used to be uh with Heno and what have you and doing the fabulous rides like in the mountains and time trials and on his day like he was definitely one of the classest riders in the pelaton. Kelly and are fighting out the finish of this tour to France together. Kelly and has got it has won the stage of the tour to France and that is absolutely incredible. incredible character like he he he he used to be he used to bluff a lot like he when I got to know he know later on because I became one of top tour rider myself I got to know his good and his bad points and when he was actually bluffing and when he was actually wasn’t bluffing and um like he he got so far on bluffing but he used to bluff when he was bad when he was wasn’t on a good day but then if you really kind of put him to the test he used to pull energy out of I don’t know where and uh he was just so so strong and new boy on the block as Roach was coming into retirement was the Spanish rider Miguel Injurerane. What did he think of him? of course have a lot of respect for the man himself like no no nobody wins five tour of France especially in a row and um like without taking anything away from the man or his achievements I think he was lucky to have come along in an era where there were no no time trial specialists because he was playing in his own backyard on his own for a number of years meaning he was used to get markup time and time trials and then just kind of uh sit back and let his team kind of ride along at announcements and keep the keep the gaps down the main riders and he take over then the final 5 km maybe and just just going to make sure everything was okay. So um but in years to come we’ll always remember in for winning his five tours won’t remember how he win them how he won them but um h anybody that wins one tour to France I think is you don’t win a tour to France just like by getting on your bike and going out and winning it. You got to have an incredible background behind you and takes an incredible amount of sacrifices on and off the bike. Indeed it does. Well, Steven Roach was always noted for his sense of humor, and here the tables were turned on. [Music] [Music] Oh. Oh. Oh. Just [Music] Spectacular [Music] development. [Music] for [Music] it was already complete. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Police. [Music] Madame Huh. Okay. for [Music] no be like, “No, no, no. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Right. Yeah. So, so [Music] Steven Ro and Lauren Fenon both know what it’s like to win the tour. And now they have something else in common. The hairy legs of the retired racer. Well, look, when when you’re 25, you’re better off being a great cyclist than being an ex cyclist. When you’re 35, you’re better off being a great ex great great ex cyclist. Last year, Steven Roach said an emotional goodbye to cycling on the shel, but he hasn’t shed any tears for the sport since then. I think the reason being is possibly because I stopped at the right time. Like, I stopped when I wanted to stop. I stopped at the top. And for me, that was a very important thing. And I feel now that like I can go to the race, I can talk to the lads, I can come to the Sparta without having any bad feelings whatsoever. Steven’s now lending the benefit of his experience to Euro Sports coverage of the tour. That is when he’s not giving one of his half dozen daily interviews. It’s like kind of if I was still riding the bike again, except when you’re riding the bike, you finish the finish line and everyone jumps on you and they’re gone. Like whereas here in the press room, you can’t say, “Listen, I’m going to massage or you can’t say listen, I’m going to eat.” and you haven’t got a better sport behind you pulling you along and taking you out of a out of a hole this time. Of course, Roach was always a media friendly rider, which is more than can be said for Lauren Pino. Although now he’s working for French radio, he seems to have developed selective amnesia about his old run-ins with the media. Oh, it doesn’t matter. No, no, no, no. After abandoning his last tour, Lauren doesn’t miss the hard work of cycling. In fact, he doesn’t seem too keen on work at all. No, I like uh to do nothing. No, I like I like to do to play tennis, to to play golf. And as flowing as he was on the bike, Lawrence still has room for improvement in front of the camera. It’s won’t never win just be my lad. I organized these cycling uh weeks out in Palmer where you go out there with your family or you go out with friends and we organize everything out there whereas you come out you have uh we can we top of the range bikes we can rent we have circuits organized we have personnel which guides which take you out in these organized groups we have five groups going out every day at five different levels so you choose your own group and um I have a permanent staff out there and I of course go out myself for two days every week and meet the people and talk about the old tour to France and the world championships and the Sean Kelly jerseys by the way. Um I have my own jersey out there. I I based my own model my own jersey uh on for my own personal identification and uh I have my own Steven Roach jersey which we sell out there which people run to buy and um this is our third year now in in operation. We have brought out 400 people in our first year. here. We brought out,00 people last year and we’re going for hoping to have 1,500 this year and we’re bringing out from all people out from all over Europe. Many people have said that to me now like the the the money I lost uh by not being able to exploit um completely my world champion jersey, but I just say like I was lucky enough to have been able to win the world champions jersey. I said money I would have spent it but the gold medal I never spent. And um I think that uh you I think in in life you got to take things the good the goods and the bads together. And I must say that when I look back at my career I I I’ve been life is generally being generous to me. And um I think that money is only material. And um I never maybe it’s strange maybe but I never actually look back and say think of all the money I could have won. I don’t look at that way at all. I just say I won the events and they never they never be taken away from me. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Laughter] [Music]