Sean Kelly Autobiography out 28th June

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Comments

  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,310
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • The review in the previous link sums up the book quite well. The post-1985 stuff is very interesting as Kelly gets to discuss all those races, pretty much picking up from where David Walsh's book finished. Kelly's dislike for Vanderarden is actually a little surprising. I knew they were great rivals but I didn't realise he disliked him that much. The issue of trading or selling races is also interesting. In particular, the story behind the 1986 Tour of Lombardy is fascinating and I think Kelly hasn't fully told 100% of that story. I remember seeing live coverage of that race on RTE and there was something about how the race unfolded that didn't seem "quite right". Now we know why. It is not correct to speak ill of the dead, but Vincenzo Torriani didn't exactly cover himself in glory during that race. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean but it is shocking, to say the least.

    Kelly doesn't really tackle the drugs issue but the explanation of the codeine positive test seems plausible as does the description of the illness in the 1991 Tour that appears to have been caused by the food supplement. His comments about what Paul Kimmage said in his book were enlightening and honest. Interestingly, Kimmage wrote a full page article in the Irish Independent during this year's Tour on Kelly's two career positives, attempting to make a comparison between Kelly and Jalabert. Kimmage failed to mention Kelly's positive comment about "Rough Ride", though.

    DD.
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    Just ordered this, I'm actually hoping there isn't too much doping talk.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • Just ordered this, I'm actually hoping there isn't too much doping talk.

    You will probably enjoy the book, given that it seems Kelly pretty much keeps to the old omerta.

    http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-s ... 01215.html
    "an original thinker… the intellectual heir of Galileo and Einstein… suspicious of orthodoxy - any orthodoxy… He relishes all forms of ontological argument": jane90.
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    Just ordered this, I'm actually hoping there isn't too much doping talk.

    You will probably enjoy the book, given that it seems Kelly pretty much keeps to the old omerta.

    http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-s ... 01215.html

    Indeed. It's not that i'm defending what went on in the 80s and 90s, just that I'm not sure there is any point in dredging it up any further. After reading 7 Deadly Sins i'm done with Irishmen talking about doping for a while.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • roypsb
    roypsb Posts: 309
    Spot on. It's not defending dopers at all, just that the doping stuff is very boring now.