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Tour of Ireland

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Tour of Ireland
Race details
DateSeptember and October 1985–1992
August 2007, 2008
RegionIreland
Local name(s)Nissan Classic (1985–1992)
Tour of Ireland 2007–09
Nickname(s)Nissan Classic (1985–1992)
DisciplineRoad race
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
TypeStage race (2.1)
OrganiserThe Events Group / Shadetree Sports
History
First edition1953 (1953)
Editions35 (as of 2009)
Most wins Sean Kelly (IRL) (4 wins)
Most recent Russell Downing (GBR)

The Tour of Ireland (Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four.

The first Tour of Ireland 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 15 years later, in 2007, as the Tour of Ireland and was part of the UCI Europe Tour. The organisers confirmed on 1 June 2010 that the 2010 race would not take place due to a financial shortfall,[1] and as of 2019, there is no further news of a revival.

History

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Origins, 1950s

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The original Tour of Ireland was a cycling stage race run in Ireland between 1953 and 1984, and organised by the internationally recognised governing body, Cumann Rothaíochta na hÉireann (CRE), later reformed as 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"[2] There is limited information about the race available on the internet and no book has been written about the event. The inaugural edition was a 4-day race won by Brian Haskell from John Perks and A Walker. Seamus Elliot who later won a stage and wore the yellow jersey in the 1963 Tour de France finished tenth overall. Briton Brian Robinson who also won a stage in the Tour de France finished fifth in this first edition.[3] According to Alf Buttler, an amateur cyclist during and after the second world war the leader's jersey was purple[4] and the race continued but as a seven-day race the following year, 1954, beginning on Thursday 29 April. The 1954 race was covered by J B Wadley and photographer Bill Lovelace for The Bicycle magazine and a full report appeared in the 5 May issue. Bernard Pusey (England A team) won from Seamus Elliott (Ireland A team) and Tony Hoar (England B team). According to Bray Wheelers, an Irish cycling club from Bray, Wicklow, the event continued until 1957.

First revival, 1960s

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The tour 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. Winners during this period include Bray Wheelers Peter Doyle (1968) and Paul Elliott (1970), Doug Dailey (1971, 1973), Liam Horner (1972), a double Olympian, Tony Lally (1974), a 1980 Olympian and the youngest ever winner at age 20, Pat McQuaid (1975, 1976; later UCI President), Ángel Arroyo (1977), runner up in 1983 Tour de France, John Shortt (1978) and Ron Hayman (1979) who was followed home by Phil Anderson, Stephen Roche and Robert Miller in 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Nissan International Classic, 1985–1992

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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]

The race was organised by the Events Group and was sponsored by Nissan; Alan Rushton was the race controller and future 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 when Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche were at the height of their success in European cycling. Kelly dominated 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 included Kelly's hometown of 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.

Third revival, 2007–2009

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After a break of fifteen years, it was announced that the event was returning to Ireland in early 2007 and sponsored by Fáilte Ireland and called the Tour of Ireland. This event was 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 26 August and was won by Stijn Vandenbergh of Belgium.[18] Lance Armstrong & Mark Cavendish took part in the 2009 edition, which was shortened to a 3-day event due to the economic downturn. [19] The organisers confirmed on 1 June 2010 that the 2010 race would not take place due to a financial shortfall, but that they hoped it will return in 2011.[20] It was due to take place from 18 August to 22 August 2010.[21]

Past winners

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Edition Year Winner Nationality Team KOM Points/Sprints
1 1953 Brian Haskell  United Kingdom London NCU
2 1954 Bernard Pusey  United Kingdom England A
3 1955 Brian Haskell  United Kingdom Yorkshire
4 1956 Jimmy Rae  United Kingdom Scotland
5 1965 Brian Jolly  United Kingdom Kirkby CC, Liverpool
6 1966 Roy Hempsall  United Kingdom Sheffield
7 1967 Nigel Dean  United Kingdom
8 1968 Peter Doyle  Ireland Bray Wheelers
9 1969 Morris Foster  United Kingdom
10 1970 Paul Elliot  Ireland Bray Wheelers
11 1971
12 1972 Liam Horner  Ireland County Dublin Road Club
13 1973 Doug Dailey  United Kingdom
14 1974 Tony Lally  Ireland
15 1975 Pat McQuaid  Ireland Irish National Team
16 1976 Pat McQuaid (2)  Ireland
17 1977 Ángel Arroyo  Spain
18 1978 John Shortt  Ireland
19 1979 Ron Hayman  Canada Archer Road Club
20 1980 Arthur Cunningham  Northern Ireland Northern CC
21 1981 David Grindley  England LIVERPOOL CENTURY
22 1982 Billy Kerr Northern Ireland
23 1983 Not held
24 1984 Bob Downs  United Kingdom
25 1985 Sean Kelly  Ireland Skil Sem Kas Miko
26 1986 Sean Kelly (2)  Ireland Guinness-Kas Mavic Teun van Vliet Netherlands Malcolm Elliot United Kingdom
27 1987 Sean Kelly (3)  Ireland Castrol Burnmah-Kas
28 1988 Rolf Gölz  Germany Superconfex Yoko Opel Tom A Ward United Kingdom
29 1989 Eric Vanderaerden  Belgium Panasonic–Isostar Tom A Ward United Kingdom
30 1990 Erik Breukink  Netherlands PDM-Ultima Concorde
31 1991 Sean Kelly (4)  Ireland PDM-Cidona
32 1992 Phil Anderson  Australia Motorola Stephen Roche Republic of Ireland
33 2007 Stijn Vandenbergh  Belgium Unibet.com Roger Beuchat Switzerland Matti Breschel Denmark
34 2008 Marco Pinotti  Italy Team Columbia Matt Wilson Australia Russell Downing United Kingdom
35 2009 Russell Downing  United Kingdom Candi TV-Marshall's Pasta Matt Wilson Australia Russell Downing United Kingdom

References

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  1. ^ Canning, Andrew (1 June 2010). "2010 Tour of Ireland cancelled". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  2. ^ "The Beginnings Of The Rás". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  3. ^ "Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: Tough guys". Velonews. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  4. ^ "Tour of Éire". hubmind.net. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  5. ^ "Tour of Ireland glory days". Bray Wheelers. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  6. ^ "PCA to ride Tour of Ireland". British cycling.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  7. ^ "Loserdom's guide to the 1987 Nissan Classic". Loser Dom. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
  8. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1985 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  9. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1986 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  10. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1987 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  11. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1991 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  12. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1988 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  13. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1989 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  14. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1990 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  15. ^ "Ronde van Ierland 1992 stage results and overall classification". Cyclebase. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  16. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  17. ^ "Top level Pro racing returns to Ireland". Cycling News. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  18. ^ "Marcato triumphs in Dublin finale". Tour of Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
  19. ^ "ARMSTRONG AND CAVENDISH CONFIRMED FOR THREE DAY TOUR OF IRELAND". Cycling Ireland.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ Cromwell, Gerard (1 June 2010). "Roche stunned as plug pulled on Tour of Ireland". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  21. ^ "Tour cancelled due to lack of funds". RTÉ Sport. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
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