July 27, 2012

Irish cyclists at the Olympics

StephenRoche_Peugeot_medium

In London tomorrow, the cycling road race takes place over 250km and provides each of the competitors the opportunity to secure the first medals on offer at the 2012 Olympic games. Representing Ireland are David McCann, Nicolas Roche and Daniel Martin. Although Ireland have never won a medal of any sort in this discipline, the green jerseys are not without their history in this prestigious event. With Roche and McCann both having competed in previous games, Martin is set to be the 30th cyclist to represent Ireland in the Olympic games men’s road race.

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January 11, 2012

The Irish exodus to Australia continues

When the Great Famine gripped Ireland in the early part of the 19th century the number of emigrants who left Irish shores numbered in their millions. Most of those who fled ended up in America, but 50,000 or so ended up even further afield, in Australia.

So began a 200 year old connection between the two countries. A connection which has been strengthened recently, again for all the wrong reasons, by many more thousands of Irish fleeing their homes, this time in search of work. The big R has hit Ireland harder than most and the construction industry has ground to a halt. This has led to many tradesmen downing tools and applying for Australian visas in the past few years.

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December 8, 2010

Junior to Pro: A Tough Transition

Irish rider Mark Scanlon, winner of the 1998 Junior Men's World Road Race

At the 1998 World Championships in Valkenburg, the little known rider Oscar Camenzind tasted success in the Elite Men’s Road Race becoming the first Swiss rider to do so since Ferdi Kubler almost 50 years previously.  A few day’s beforehand, Abraham Olano was busy becoming the Elite Men’s Time Trial World Champion. Having previously won the road race in 1995, Olano remains the only rider to have won the Rainbow Jersey for both events. However, what’s more interesting about the 1998 World Championships are the Men’s under age events.

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July 15, 2010

Ireland’s Tour de France History

Kelly

Luxembourg only have five riders currently racing on Pro Tour teams. Of these five, three of them are among the best in the world, Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck and Kim Kirchen. They have each won one of cycling’s classics, they have each won a stage of the Tour de France and they have each worn the yellow jersey. The fact that they have managed to produce such riders is made all the more remarkable due to the fact that the country has a population of  only half a million people with a land mass comparable to that of County Meath.

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