Seamus Elliott

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Seamus Elliott

Personal information
Full name	Seamus Elliott
Nickname	Shay
Date of birth	June 4 1934(1934-06-04)
Date of death	May 4 1971 (aged 36)
Country	Image:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional team(s)
1956-1958 1959-1961 1962-1964 1965 1966-1967 1968-1969 1970	Helyett-Potin Helyett-Fynsec Saint Raphael-Geminiani Ford France-Gitane Mercier-BP-Hutchinson Did not ride Falcon
Infobox last updated on:
March 14, 2007

Seamus 'Shay' Elliott (born 4 June, 1934 in Dublin, Ireland, died 4 May, 1971 in Dublin) was an Irish road bicycle racer.

Shay Elliott was the first Irish cyclist to make a mark as a professional rider in continental Europe. A talented rider, he spent most of his career riding as a high class domestique for stars such as Jacques Anquetil and Jean Stablinski. He won stages in all the Grand Tours and was 2nd (to Stablinski) in the 1962 World Road Championship at Salò in Italy.

He was the first Irishman to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France (1963) and he came third in the 1962 Vuelta a España. He won the Omloop "Het Volk" semic-classic in 1959.

Contents 1 Amateur career 2 Professional career 3 Retirement 4 Memorials 5 Major results 6 External links

[edit] Amateur career

At 18 Elliott won the 1953 Irish amateur road race championship. His second place overall in the Tour of Ireland of the same year earned him a trip to the Simplex training camp in Monte Carlo for the spring of the following season.

During the winter he contacted former French professional roadman Francis Pélissier to seek advice in preparation for the camp. Pélissier told Elliott to compete in as many races as possible, at least three or four a week - possible in France, but not in the Ireland of the 1950s, a cycling backwater. Elliott did the next best thing, training as hard as he could and his good form was noted at the camp. He was recruited by a French amateur team and went on to win the Galibier stage of the Route de France stage race.

In 1955 he joined the ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt) in Paris, France's top amateur team. He won five one-day amateur classics. His form impressed the professional teams and he joined the paid ranks for the 1956 season.

[edit] Professional career

1956 was a season of adjustment, but in his first major race of 1957, the Omloop "Het Volk" in Belgium, he made a race-long break with Englishman Brian Robinson. The break was caught near the finish but Elliott's form was noted. He became a team mate of Jacques Anquetil and Jean Stablinski.

In 1959 he had his best one-day event with victory in the semi-classic Omloop "Het Volk". He was the first non-Begian winner of the event.

In 1962 he came third in the general classification Vuelta a España stage race, winning the fourth stage and coming second in the points classification. He led the race for nine days before losing the lead.

In the 1962 World Road Championship at Salò in Italy, he got into the winning break with his friend Stablinski. Stablinksi was a team mate in the professional peloton but supposedly a rival in the championship, where riders rode in national teams. However, Elliott and Stablinksi worked together to wear down the other break members. When Stablinksi attacked, Elliott refused to help chase him and the Frenchmen won alone. Elliott, full of riding, eventually broke away to take the silver medal. After the race Elliott admitted he had sacrificed his chance for Stablinski's benefit.

Elliott's best result was in the 1963 Tour de France. On stage three he and Stablinksi, both riding on Anquetil's St-Raphaël team, got into a break that established a nine-minute lead. When Elliott punctured, Stablinksi controlled the break to allow him to regain his place in the lead. With six kilometres to the finish in Roubaix Elliott broke away, Stablinski refused to help chase and the stage was won. The lead was enough to give Elliott the yellow jersey of leader. He was the first Irishman to wear the maillot jaune. He held it for three days.

[edit] Retirement

After retiring he returned to Dublin to set up a metal-working business with his father. He had problems adjusting to his new life, exacerbated by financial problems, the breakup of his marriage to his French wife, Marguerite, and the death of his son in a traffic accident.

In 1970 Elliott made a comeback, riding for the small British Falcon team. His first race was the London-Holyhead - 270 miles long, and at the time, the longest unpaced race in the world. He came 21st.

Domestic professional racing was not as attractive or rewarding as the continental scene, though. Combining cycling with a full-time job meant he struggled to be competitive. Despite his problems, he continued to ride, train juniors and formulate ambitious plans for Irish cycling.

In April 1971 his father died. Two days after the funeral, on May 4, 1971, Elliott was found dead from a shotgun wound.

[edit] Memorials

The Shay Elliott Memorial Road Race is run every year in Ireland in his honour. The race was previously known as the Route de Chill Mhantain. It became the Shay Elliott Trophy in the late sixties, then the Shay Elliott Memorial after his death in 1971. The race is the most prestigious Irish one-day event after the national championship.

A monument to Elliott was erected by friends. It stands on the climb from Drumgoff Bridge towards Laragh in County Wicklow, Ireland.

[edit] Major results

[edit] External links

• Seamus Elliott's palmares at memoire-du-cyclisme.net (French)
• an article on Seamus Elliott by Owen Mulholland at bikeraceinfo.com
• An article about Seamus Elliott at CyclingRevealed.com
• Seamus Elliott at DeWielerSite.net (English version available)nl:Seamus Elliott