Tour of Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | September and October 1985 - 1992 August 2007 |
| Region | Ireland |
| Local name(s) | Nissan Classic (1985–1992) Tour of Ireland 2007– |
| Nickname(s) | Nissan Classic (1985–1992) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | The Events Group/Shadetree Sports |
| History | |
| First edition | 1953 |
| Editions | 33 (as of 2007) |
| Most wins |  Seán Kelly (4 wins) |
| Most recent | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Stijn Vandenbergh |
The Tour of Ireland (known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) is a stage race held in August. The first race debuted in 1953 and ran until 1957. It was revived in 1965 and ran until 1985. In 1985 the 5 day Nissan International Classic took over as the Tour of Ireland. This lasted for 8 years until 1992. The race returned in 2007 as the Tour of Ireland and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Tour of Ireland was a cycling stage race that was run in Ireland between 1953 and 1984. It was organised originally by the Cumann Rothaíochta na hÉireann (CRE) which was later renamed the Federation of Irish Cyclists. In 1953 the Irish Government initiated An Tóstal, a cultural festival, and asked all Irish sporting bodies to participate. As part of this the CRE ran a four day Tour of Ireland. With sponsorship from An Tostal, Aspro and Hercules cycles, the event was known as the Tostal Tour and was a big success throughout most of the country, although it was said to have “had a hard time in the NCA heartlands of Kerry”[1] There is little or no information about the race available on the internet and no book has been written about the event. In the inaugural edition, Seamus Elliot who would later win a stage and wear the maillot jaune in the 1963 Tour de France wore the leaders jersey and finished second overall. Briton Brian Robinson who also won a stage in the Tour de France competed the first edition.[2] According to Alf Buttler, an amateur cyclist during and after the second world war the leader’s jersey was purple[3] and the race continued as a four day race the following year, 1954, beginning on Thursday April 29 and was won by Briton John Perks.[4] According to Bray Wheelers an Irish cycling club from Bray, Wicklow, the event continued until 1957 when it stopped but was revived in 1965.[5] During the seventies the race was known as the Raleigh Dunlop Tour of Ireland.[6] The event continued to 1984.
The Nissan International Classic was then organised from 1985 until 1992 which it appears took over from the Tour of Ireland. The Nissan Classic was referred to as the Tour of Ireland by the famous Irish cyclist Stephen Roche during the 1987 edition.[7]
[edit] Nissan International Classic
The race was organised by the Events Group and it was sponsored by Nissan. Alan Rushton was the race controller and the current President of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, was the race director. It was a hugely successful event that captured the spirit and imagination of the race going public who stood at the side of the road in vast numbers. The event occurred during the golden age of Irish cycling during the domination of Seán Kelly and Stephen Roche in European cycling. Kelly brought that domination to the Irish event by winning four [8] [9] [10] [11] of the eight races.[12] [13] [14] [15] Roche won two stages in the first edition and finished second in the 1987 edition while wearing the rainbow jersey of world champion but never won the event[16]. The event used the most famous 'wall' in Ireland – the steep ascent of St. Patricks Hill in Cork city as the finale of a stage in almost every edition of the event. Other areas that the event regularly visited was Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary, O'Connell Street in Limerick and Eyre Square in Galway. The race used to finish on O'Connell Street in Dublin after doing many laps of a circuit in the city centre.
[edit] 2007 Tour of Ireland
After a break of fifteen years, it was announced that the event would return to Ireland in early 2007 and would be sponsored by Fáilte Ireland and called the Tour of Ireland. This event would be organised by the Events Group and Shadetree Sports and the route of the race took in many of the same areas that the Nissan Classic covered. Just like the 1987 edition of the Nissan Classic, the Tour of Ireland started from Kilkenny Castle. The first stage used St. Patricks Hill in Cork city in its finale.[17] The five day stage race concluded on August 26 and was won by Stijn Vandenbergh of Belgium.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ The Beginnings Of The Rás. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: Tough guys. Velonews. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Tour of Éire. hubmind.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Whats all been about. Hubmind.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Tour of Ireland glory days. Bray Wheelers. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ PCA to ride Tour of Ireland. British cycling.org.uk. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Loserdom's guide to the 1987 Nissan Classic. loserdomzine.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1985 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1986 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1987 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1991 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1988 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1989 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1990 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Ronde van Ierland 1992 stage results and overall classification. Cyclebase. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly are names etched into the psyche of cycling aficionados. Michael Hearn and Brendan Mooney look back over their stunning careers. Irish Examiner. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Cyclingnews May 2 2007 Top level Pro racing returns to Ireland. Cyclingnews. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
- ^ Marcato triumphs in Dublin finale. Tour of Ireland.ie. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
[edit] Past winners
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