Cycling spectacular brings town to halt

September 1985

Wexford came to a virtual standstill yesterday ( Wednesday) as the town welcomed the 80 cyclists competing in the Nissan IInternational Classic on the first stage of their round-Ireland tour.

World ranked number one, Sean Kelly, won the first stage. In a thrilling sprint finish up William Street, Kelly showed all his tremendous strength to finish at the head of a group of ten riders.

His exciting win was cheered by an enthusiastic crowd who defied the foul weather to turn out in force. Within minutes, he was wearing the leader’s yellow jersey, and he will now wear that on the second stage today (Thursday) into his home town of Carrick on Suir.

A huge Garda operation began in early morning yesterday to prepare the town for the arrival of the cyclists. They were joined by race organisers, and by lunchtime, all was ready.

All roads into town were manned by Gardai, as were junctions on the route the cyclists took around town. Barriers were erected at spectator vantage points and all along Trinity Street and William Street, and up to Fisher’s Row, where the stage ended.

By 2 p.m., traffic in and out of the town was halted and movement within the town was severely restricted, as the cyclists completed two three-mile circuits of the town’s narrow streets.

As expected, most schools in the town closed early to ensure that children were home safely be- fore the race arrived. Many children joined large crowds on the route to cheer the cyclists home.

Despite the chronic traffic disruption and inconvenience to motorists, shopkeepers, and schools, the race generated tremendous interest in the town and most Wexford people were delighted that the town had been chosen as a stage end for the country’s first professional cycle race.