1986 Paris-Roubaix: Savouring the moment, 29-year-old Kelly confirms his ‘King’ status.
He’ll claim 30 victories for the 1986 season.
“In 1986 I had finished second in The Tour of Flanders the previous Sunday. That evening I took a plane down to Spain to start the Tour of The Basque Country the following morning. A five day race with plenty of short steep climb, I still managed to find myself within fighting distance of the leader going into the final time trial on the Friday having also won 2 stages. My legs were good so I really gave it everything to win the time trial and also managed to win the overall too. Next day I jumped back on a plane to Belgium and drove down to the start of Paris Roubaix.
Eye on the prize with Francesco Moser and Urs Freuler
I felt a bit fatigued for the first hour but once I came around I knew that the legs felt strong. In the end four of us came to the finish together. When Van Den Haute attacked, I remembered Flanders the previous Sunday and let Van der Poel chase. When I started my sprint I gave it everything and managed to have a good enough gap to savour the moment as I crossed the finish line.
When you are really feeling good then you are oozing confidence and you feel so comfortable riding across the cobblestones. Even if somebody attacks and they are really pushing you can follow without having to bite your tongue - that’s a great feeling. When you are feeling that way, that gets the confidence up and then you’ve won a big part of the battle.
But it’s only a part, there’s no guarantee. As I say, Roubaix is the greatest race to win but it’s the shittiest race to ride. Mechanical problems and crashes are always there, that’s always a concern.”
-Sean Kelly
Kelly celebrates his second victory in Paris-Roubaix in 1986 with the iconic granite cobblestone trophy.
He also won the famed event in 1984.
"For me still, with all the collection I've got, the cobblestones are the ones which I think I look at the most. If you're a cycling follower, yeah, the cobblestones from Roubaix means a lot..."
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