King Kelly reigns in Spain: Retracing Ireland's first Vuelta a España victory

Sean Kelly recounts the story of Ireland's first ever win in the Vuelta a España to James Shrubsall

Sean Kelly at the Tour de France in 1987 (Photo by Nutan/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

(Image credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Ten top-fives; six podiums and two stages. In 1988 this was all the work of one man, in one Grand Tour — the rider being Sean Kelly and the race being the Vuelta a España. Perhaps most impressively, Kelly finished every single stage in the top 10, on his way to becoming the first Irishman – and the first English speaker – to win the Vuelta.

The previous year, 1987, the 30-year-old Irishman from Carrick-on-Suir had come heartbreakingly close to becoming the first Irishman to win a Grand Tour. Having taken the leader’s jersey in the final time trial on stage 18, Kelly was forced to abandon the following day thanks to a painful saddle sore.

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