Through the Roots

The 5th "Wee Adventure Film Festival", a great night in Vicar Street last night. The winner of the best amateur film is a documentary about the growth of mountain-biking in Ireland - I might have sent the link around before. Worth a look sometime (27 minutes though), and I'd probably suggest flicking past the dialogue which is sometimes less than inspirational. But the footage should inspire anyone to get up on their bike - and a not too shabby soundtrack too. Check it out here.

Paris-Nice – Le Championnat d'Irlandais

Excellent article about Kelly's early days as a pro, and the Irish dominance in Paris-Nice - la course au soleil - in the 1980's.

Kelly hated it. "Paris-Nice had been a race I wanted to ride," he told David Walsh "but my outlook changed pretty quickly. It was so bloody hard. For three-quarters of the stage you worked for Maertens, then you got dropped and ended up finishing five or six minutes down. By the time you finished Maertens had already received his bouquet of flowers for winning. Paris-Nice opened my eyes.

The full article is here.