Through most of his career, Dan Martin was one of the best cyclists - indeed athletes - who ever donned the green of Ireland. His career is peppered with feats of incredible athleticism. Victory in Il Lombardia, 3rd in La Vuelta and, especially, his win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, all cemented his place as one of the greats.
His win on stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de France, on Mûr de Bretagne, was one of the finest 1km efforts you'll ever see in pro cycling. And his late career win at the Giro - on stage 17 to Sega di Ala in 2021 - was a stage-long masterclass finished in a way few riders can.
But, to put it bluntly, he never did the business for Ireland at a Worlds, never came close or even put on a big show, even though he was at times a formidable one-day racer. And when looks at the careers of even Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche, as good as they were, the sheer difficulty of mastering the Worlds is put into context.
Advertisement
Most former racing cyclists - the good ones who know what they're talking about - will tell you it can take 10, even more, participations in the hardest evens, amateur or pro, to produce even one performance and result a rider will be truly happy with.
And that is very much the story of Ireland at the Worlds, from Shay Elliott in the 1960s to Ben Healy last year, and everyone in between.
As Healy bids for a medal in Rwanda this weekend, let's have a look at Ireland's record in the elite men's road race at the Worlds down the years.
From the start of his pro career to the end - 1977 to mid 1993 - Kelly, incredibly, never missed the Worlds. He was in the top 10 seven times and was on the podium twice, claiming bronze in both 1982 (Goodwood) and 1989 in (Chambéry).
In 1982 Giuseppe Saronni (Italy) won solo by five seconds from Greg Lemond (USA), with Kelly winning the eight-man group sprint for 3rd a further five seconds back. In 1989, Kelly was in the small front group sprint for gold, though Lemond won, with Dmitry Konyshev (Russia) 2nd and Kelly 3rd.
Related News
Kelly won almost everything and took multiple victories in some of the hardest races. But his haul from 17 appearances at the Worlds was two bronze medals; very poor for him.
Stephen Roche - a pro from 1981 to 1993 - rode the Worlds eight times and was in the top 10 three times; 3rd in 1983 (Altenrhein), 7th in 1985 (Giavera di Montello) and gold in 1987 (Villach).
He took that gold medal with a late solo attack from the front group in the closing stages in Villach, holding off the 12-man group led in by Moreno Argentin (Italy), with Juan Fernández (Spain) taking bronze. Kelly was in the group, all at just one second, and placed 5th.
Though Nicolas Roche flew the Irish flag for years, along with cousin Dan Martin, Roche was always a general classification man. And though he rode the Worlds road race 11 times, his best finish was 26th in Ponferrada, 2014. Martin rode the Worlds road race eight times; 26th in Bergen, 2017, his best result.
Of the other top Irish riders, who were at a level to win a Worlds medal, Sam Bennett has only ridden the elite road race at a Worlds five times. His best, and only, finish was 40th in the US in 2015. Philip Deignan had five starts and finished once; 40th in Mendrisio in 2009.
Aside from Kelly and Roche, the only other Irish riders to ever make an impact at the Worlds, ever really compete at the front in a final, were Shay Elliott, Martin Earley and Ben Healy. Elliott won silver in Salò di Garda in 1962. Earley was 7th in 1989 and Healy was 7th last year.
We'll finish on the big two.
Combined, Kelly and Roche rode the Worlds 27 times, and in many of those races they worked for each other - they could have had no better team mate. Yet between them, they won it once.
That's how hard the Worlds is.
