Star Rider Interview: Sean Kelly was the ‘King of the Classics’ for a few years, however the man from Carrick-on-Suir additionally received the Vuelta a España and lots of shorter stage races. His report at Liège-Bastogne-Liège is barely crushed by Argentin and Merckx. Ed Hood caught up with the Irishman for his ideas on the ‘Previous Woman’ of the highway.
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Sean Kelly on the wheel of Phil Anderson on the highway to Liège
Sean Kelly’s stats for Liège learn like this: 1979, twentieth: 1981, eleventh: 1982, tenth: 1984, 1st: 1985, 4th: 1986, twelfth: 1987, twentieth; 1988, fifth: 1989, 1st – With palmarès like that, Kelly is the person to speak to concerning the oldest, and lots of would say the toughest of the ‘monuments’.
PEZ: What makes Liège-Bastogne-Liège so particular, Sean?
Sean Kelly: It’s a clear race and it goes via good countryside, there are not any cobbles and grime; not like Flanders and Roubaix the place among the parcours are fairly horrible. Flanders and Roubaix are nice races however they’re working fights too, in Flanders it’s important to combat to be within the entrance for the climbs and in Roubaix it’s important to combat to be first to the stones. Liège is rather more of a wearing-down course of, there’s a continuing, sluggish elimination via the again door because the weak quietly slip away because the race goes on and on. One other factor about it’s that there tends to be fewer crashes, so it’s a bit safer than Flanders or Roubaix.
Two wins in Roubaix wasn’t too unhealthy both
PEZ: Was the course a lot the identical within the 80s as it’s now?
Just about so, however the massive distinction is within the finalé, it’s a really tough previous couple of kilometres now.
Kelly had a couple of crashes in his time, but it surely needed to be very unhealthy to cease him
PEZ: What does it take win at Liege?
A winner has to have the ability to recover from the climbs a technique or one other; among the drags go on for possibly six or seven kilometres. When you research the race-winners you’ll discover that there are a variety of climbers who’ve received it but additionally a variety of males who bought over the climbs on their energy. When you take a look at Moreno Argentin (Italy) who received it 4 instances; he wasn’t a fantastic climber in my ebook, he by no means received an necessary stage race for instance, however he was very sturdy and bought over the climbs on his energy.
Kelly with Anderson once more together with Pedro Delgado
PEZ: You received twice, in ’84 and ’89, which was hardest?
They have been each exhausting in their very own manner. In ’84 it was in a dash from a giant group; you possibly can by no means ensure in a bunch dash state of affairs. In ’89 it was from a gaggle of 4, Philipot (France and Toshiba), Delgado (Spain and Reynolds) and Phil Anderson (Australia and TVM) – the survivors of the bunch have been getting very shut, I used to be getting nervous that they might catch us, we by no means had a giant hole and in case you’ve been away for 50 kilometres, working exhausting in a break after which get caught late within the race it’s very tough to then win a dash. (The bunch, the truth is, caught the break proper on the road, however the escapees held-on to get the primary 4 placings.)
Sean on the wheel of Criquielion, Lemond following in 1990
PEZ: Who have been the fellows to beat?
Phil Anderson was in superb type on each these events – he was second in ’84 and third in ’89, however there was additionally Fignon, Criquielion, Delgado – all good, sturdy riders.
Anderson (TVM) Delgado (Reynolds), Philipot (Toshiba) and Kelly (PDM)
PEZ: The La Redoute climb doesn’t appear to be as influential within the race, now?
In my day it was the final massive climb, there was possibly one smaller climb after it however after that it was a quick run-in to the end in Liege. Now it finally ends up within the Liege suburb of Ans, on the high of an extended exhausting climb. If a break went within the 80’s it was exhausting to get them again as a result of the run-in was so quick, however now a break has to outlive that robust finale and it’s a lot more durable to hold-off chasers; so La Redoute isn’t fairly so necessary.
No ‘specialisation’ from Kelly – Sturdy all season via
PEZ: What do you consider ‘specialisation’ amongst classics riders, in your day you simply rode all the things, didn’t you?
When Greg Lemond first began racing he rode a full program, the truth is he was third to me at Liege in ’84 however as his profession progressed he started to specialise within the Tour, using fewer and fewer different race – in fact Indurain and Armstrong continued the pattern. The classics guys adopted go well with later and now you may have ‘cobble specialists’ and ‘Ardennes specialists’ – in case you can get-away with it, why not?
Surrounded by the celebs: Jan Raas, Sean Kelly and Bernard Hinault
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