Seamus Elliott
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Seamus Elliott |
| Nickname | Shay |
| Date of birth | June 4, 1934 |
| Date of death | May 4, 1971 |
| Country |  Ireland |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1956-1958 1959-1961 1962-1964 1965 1966-1967 1968-1969 1970 |
Helyett-Potin Helyett-Fynsec Saint Raphael-Geminiani Ford France-Gitane Mercier-BP-Hutchinson Did not ride Falcon |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| March 14, 2007 | |
Seamus 'Shay' Elliott (born 4 June 1934 in Dublin, Ireland, died 4 May 1971 in Dublin) was an Irish road bicycle racer.
Shay Elliott was the first Irish cyclist to make a mark as a professional rider in continental Europe. A talented rider, he spent most of his career riding as a high class domestique for stars such as Jacques Anquetil and Jean Stablinski. He won stages in all the Grand Tours and was 2nd (to Stablinksi) in the 1962 World Road Championship at Salò in Italy.
He was the first Irishman to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France (1963) and he came 3rd in the 1962 Vuelta a España. He won the Omloop "Het Volk" semic-classic in 1959.
Contents |
[edit] Amateur career
At the age of 18 Elliott won the 1953 Irish amateur road race championship. His second place overall in the Tour of Ireland of the same year earned him a trip to the Simplex training camp in Monte Carlo for the Spring of the following season.
During the winter he contacted former French professional roadman Francis Pélissier to seek advice in preparation for the camp. Pélissier told Elliott to compete in as many races as possible, at least three or four a week - entirely possible in France, but not in the Ireland of the 1950s - a relative cycling backwater. Elliott did the next best thing, training as hard as he could and his good form was noted at the camp. He was recruited by a French amateur team and went on to win the Galibier stage of the prestigious Route de France stage race.
In 1955 he joined the ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne Billancourt) in Paris, France's top amateur team. He won five one-day amateur classics. His form impressed the professional teams and he joined the paid ranks for the 1956 season.
[edit] Professional career
1956 was a season of adjustment, but in his first major race of 1957, the Omloop "Het Volk" in Belgium, he made a race-long break with Englishman Brian Robinson. The break was caught near to the finish, but Elliott's form was noted. He became a trusted team mate of Jacques Anquetil and Jean Stablinski.
In 1959 he had his best one-day event with victory in the semi-classic Omloop "Het Volk". He was the first non-Begian winner of the event.
In 1962 he came 3rd in the general classification Vuelta a España stage race, winning the 4th stage and coming second in the points classification. He led the race for 9 days before losing the lead.
In the 1962 World Road Championship at Salò in Italy, he got into the winning break with his friend Stablinski. Stablinksi was a team mate in the professional peleton, but supposedly a rival in the Championship, where riders rode in national teams. However, Elliott and Stablinksi worked together to wear down the other break members. When Stablinksi attacked, Elliott refused to help chase him down and the Frenchmen won alone. Elliott, full of riding, eventually broke away to take the silver medal. After the race Elliott admitted that he had sacrificed his own chance for Stablinski's benefit.
Elliott's best result was probably in the 1963 Tour de France. On stage 3 Elliott and Stablinksi, both of them riding on Anquetil's St Raphael team, got into a break that established a 9 minute lead. When Elliott punctured Stablinksi controlled the break to allow him to regain his place in the lead. With 6 kilometres to the finish in Roubaix Elliott broke away, Stablinski refused to help the chase and the stage was won. The lead was enough to give Elliott the yellow jersey of the overall leader on the road. He was the first Irishman ever to wear the maillot jaune. He held on to the jersey for three days.
[edit] Retirement
After retiring from the professional sport he returned to Dublin to set up a metal working business with his father. He had problems adjusting to his new lifestyle. His problems were exacerbated by financial problems, the breakup of his marriage to his French wife, Marguerite, and the death of his son in a traffic accident.
In 1970 Elliott made a comeback, riding for the small British Falcon team. His first race was the London-Holyhead - 270 miles long, and at the time, the longest unpaced race in the world. He came 21st.
Domestic professional racing was not as attractive or rewarding as the continental scene though. Combining cycling with a full-time job meant that he struggled to be competitive. Despite all of his propblems, he continued to ride, train juniors and formulate ambitious plans for Irish cycling.
In April 1971 his father died. Two days after the funeral, on May 4, 1971, Elliott was found dead from a shotgun wound.
[edit] Memorials
The Shay Elliott Memorial Road Race is run every year in Ireland in his honour. The race was previously known as the Route de Chill Mhantain. It became the Shay Elliott Trophy in the late sixties, then the Shay Elliott Memorial after his untimely death in 1971. The race is the most prestigious Irish one-day event after the national championships.
A monument to Elliott was erected by friends. It stands on the hard climb from Drumgoff Bridge towards Laragh in County Wicklow, Ireland.
[edit] Major results
1953
- Irish amateur road champion
1956
- 1st GP d'Isbergues
1957
- 1st la Semaine Bretonne
- 1st Circuit de la Vienne
- 3rd Paris-Bourges
- 1st points classification Paris-Nice
1958
- 1st GP Sigrand
- 2nd GP de Nice
- 2nd Tour de Picardie
- 1st points classifcation and 2 stages Four Days of Dunkirk
1959
- 1st Omloop "Het Volk"
- 1st GP de Denain
- 1st GP de Nice
- 1st Manx Trophy
1960
- 1st Trophée Peugeot (Rennes-Brest)
- 1st Stage 3a GP Ciclomotoristico
- 2nd Circuit de l'Indre
- 2nd Nice-Gênes
- 1st stage 18 Giro d'Italia
1961
- 1st stage 2 Four Days of Dunkirk
1962
- 2nd World Championships Professional Road Race
- 2nd Circuit de la Vienne
- 2nd Paris-Camembert
- 2nd GP du Vercors
- 3rd GC Vuelta a España (1st stage 4 and 2nd on points classification)
- 3rd Circuit Mandel-Lys-Escaut
- 3rd GP d'Orchies
1963
- 1st GP de Vayrac
- 2nd Paris-Camembert
- 2nd Tour de l'Oise
- 1st stage 13 Vuelta a España
- 1st stage 3 Tour de France (and wore the yellow jersey)
1964
- 1st Manx Trophy
1965
- 1st Tour de l'Oise (1st stage 1)
- 1st GP de Saint-Raphaël
- 1st GP d'Espéraza
- 1st GP d'Orchies
- 2nd London-Holyhead
1966
- 1st GP du Trégor
