Mullingar was scene of early win for a great of cycle world

It may have been almost 40 years ago, but the memory is still fresh in the mind of one of Ireland’s greatest cycling legends, Sean Kelly.

Way back then, the fresh faced Carrick on Suir native completed one of three stage wins in the 1975 Nissan Classic when he powered his bike home on the approach to Mullingar.

The town might have been a bit of a blur but the reality of the victory remains clear in his mind.
“I can’t really remember the town but there was to be a climb to the finish and I didn’t notice it,” said Sean as he spoke with local journalists in The Greville Arms Hotel last Saturday.

At the invitation of the Lakeside Wheelers, Sean over-nighted in the Greville on Friday after attending a cycling forum earlier in the evening.

As an added bonus for the club members, Sean led out a group of 70 cyclists in Arctic conditions on Saturday, signing autographs before and after as the members took great pleasure in having the Waterford great in their midst.

In an all-embracing chat, Sean reflected on his career, from his childhood through to one of his final victories, touched on the recent Lance Armstrong controversy and spoke of his admiration for Mullingar’s Damien Shaw.

As he prepared to depart, he spoke of the progress of Damien Shaw over the last two years. “I have been watching him closely and he has been out with us in Spain. Damien only took it up late and there is some tuning to be done. But there is a lot more improvement there.

“Last year he was concentrating on doing well in the Paralympics and that was different. This year will be different again,” Sean concluded, believing that the Mullingar cyclist will continue to make headlines through 2013.

Full story and lots of photos in this week’s Westmeath Examiner.