2014 Giro d'Italia stage 2

LOCAL HERO
Notwithstanding the glory years of the 1980s, Irish cycling owes a debt of gratitude to the late Shay Elliott. It was he who left the security and sanctuary of family life in the late 1950s, he who risked everything for a career in continental cycling. Moreover it was he, one glorious afternoon in 1960, who delivered Ireland's first Giro stage.

On the stage to Belluno, Shay's boss, maglia rosa Jacques Anquetil, gave him leave to ride for himself. With the talented Graziano Battistini up the road, he jumped out of the peloton in the company of a local named Aurelio Cestari. He was a good rider, Cestari, but when the rain came his bike-handling let him down. When he crashed Shay had no choice but to try to bridge across to Battistini alone. He did just that, then dumped him 5 kilometres from home, and would add stages of both the Tour and Vuelta. He wore the yellow jersey at the Tour as well, but died in tragic circumstances in 1971. He remains, however, a genuine Irish cycling icon.

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