New Irish cycling start-up business makes it to the Tour de France

Shea Gribbon working on cycling shoes in his studio in Northern Ireland. He's really been making waves with his customised footwear and now a pair of his ones and twos will be in the Tour de France when it rolls out of Brittany on Saturday

We may be missing a few of our top cyclists from the Tour de France peloton this year, but one Irish start-up company will be in the race - on the feet of Luka Mezgec.

The Team Bike Exchange rider will be sporting a pair of cycling shoes (below) customised by Shea Gribbon, also known as The Shoe Dr.

Gribbon has been customising all types of footwear - from trainers to football boots and cycling shoes, to name but a few - for years. And two years ago he decided to branch out on his own and start his own business - The Shoe Dr - from his studio in Maghera, Co Derry.

His customers in the cycling world have included Irish road race champion Ben Healy - who got a pair of shoes in champion's livery - and British rider Harry Tanfield, who wore a pair of shoes customised by Gribbon when he rode La Vuelta last year with AG2R La Mondiale.

Even Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France champion, was spotted wearing a pair of Gribbons socks recently. And now the Tour de France is the next shop window for Gribbon.

He was put in touch with Slovenian sprinter Mezgec by Sean McNicholl, Irish mechanic to the stars and who has worked with Slovenian national team.

Lara Gillespie attacks Dolomite stage as Giro hits high mountains — *The Shoe Dr got some nice coverage at La Vuelta last year, including on Eurosport and GCN*

Video - Ireland's Meehan climbs with best on brutal Alpine terrain — *The Shoe Dr got some nice coverage at La Vuelta last year, including on Eurosport and GCN*

"Luka gave me the creative freedom to come up with my own design. I made sure to make them eye catching so we can’t miss them on TV," said Gribbon of the shoes.

"It’s going to be amazing to see them at one of the biggest sporting events of the year," he added, clearly mindful of Eurosport and GCN both featuring the shoes Tanfield wore in Spain last year.

However, the delivery of Mezgec's shoes almost didn't happen as the first courier carrying them to Slovenia let the merchandise sit in a warehouse for six days before sending them back to Ireland with no explanation.

The second effort to get the shoes to Mezgec was almost derailed when the package became stranded in customs. But a persistent Gribbon finally got lucky - after dozens of phone calls - and managed to reach an official in Slovenian customs who is a major cycling fan and a big fan of Mezgec in particular.

He fast tracked the process for Gribbon and just got the shoes to Mezgec in Slovenia yesterday morning hours before he was due to leave his home country and join up with BikeExchange in France for the Tour.