The Irish are expected to flock to Irish Corner 10 in large numbers on Alpe d'Huez today. Sean Kelly has already stopped off to say hello to Stephen O'Shea and Ronan Fox.

Irish cycling fans gather at Irish Corner 10 Alpe d'Huez

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Alpe d’Huez is back in the Tour de France, on today’s stage 12, and that means Irish Corner 10 also makes a return.

Based on Dutch Corner, where fans from Holland congregate at the same bend on the famed climb, Irish corner has had two editions to date.

The lads behind it – Ronan Fox and Stephen O’Shea – were there first in 2013 and again two years later.

The race this time around has been in the Vendee and Brittany regions for over a week.

And because both are convenient for Irish fans either flying or catching the ferry, a strong contingent of Irish is expected today on Irish Corner 10 today.

Fans have already been camping out on the climb in recent days. And when we checked in with the lads yesterday they said the corner had been painted green, white and orange.

There were also plenty of Irish flags and Sean Kelly had stopped off to say hello. Kelly is, of course, commentating for Eurosport at the Tour.

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Did not expect the race to explode like that today. Luckily the legs were good. Will make tomorrow even more difficult but so excited to race up @alpedhuez @IrishCorner10 and all the craziness that comes with the 21 hairpins

— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) July 18, 2018

While the Irish on the climb will have just one Irishman to cheer for in Dan Martin, he is going really well and moved into the top 10 overall yesterday.

And because the race finishes atop Alpe d'Huez today, Marin will hopefully be at the head of what should be a very strung out field.

Stephen O’Shea said the banter was good already. And he was hoping for more Irish people than the previous two hostings of Irish Corner 10.

Irish Corner 10 for fans

“We are hoping to get a lot of people along dressed up in various bits of orange and green to basically make a bit of noise,” he said.

“The Irish sports fans are known as great fans in all sports. And this is about showing people that it’s the same with Irish cycling fans.

“All we need now is a big crowd of Irish people. So we’d encourage anyone on the climb to come to us at corner 10.

“And who knows, maybe we will even be cheering Dan onto a stage win; it would be incredible.”

Arrived @alpedhuez pic.twitter.com/HAtoDM5q5Z

— Irish Corner?? (@IrishCorner10) July 18, 2018