Crowning achievement: How Stephen Roche completed his shock Triple Crown

Stephen Roche’s 1987 World Championship victory that completed the Triple Crown was a shock to many that knew him best

(Image credit: Watson)

Thirty years on from his victory in the 1987 World Championships, Stephen Roche still finds it hard to believe that he came out on top at the end of that wet September day in Villach, Austria.

Away in a break with four other riders, all quicker than him in a sprint, and with Irish team-mate Sean Kelly marked closely by defending champion Moreno Argentin in the group behind, Roche jumped from the back of the lead group just as they swung onto the drag up to the line.

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Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling WeeklyCycle Sport and Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments, his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by Alpe d’Huez, an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.