Before Stephen Roche, before Sean Kelly there was Shay Elliot and his bike. For the Irish Tour hopefuls who came after him, he was the pioneer of international cycling.
The Dubliner had travelled to the Continent in 1956 and turned professional that year. He was a strong cyclist who thrived in cold and hard conditions. His best Tour came in 1963 when he won a stage and wore the leaders yellow jersey for a glorious three days.
In the days before mass media this amazing achievement merited only a few paragraphs in our national newspapers. In total, Elliot competed in six tours but was forced to end his career because of bankruptcy. Depressed and disillusioned, he killed himself in Dublin in 1971.
Just eight years later a man with the same brute force and aggressive cycling style competed in his first Tour de France. He finished 39th. But Tipperary man Sean Kelly would do much more.
He completed 14 Tours, a record only beaten by two other cyclists, and won five stages in these. In 1984 and 1985 he came fifth and fourth. Kelly also holds the record for most green jerseys - four - ever won.
In 1983 Stephen Roche made his debut in the Tour de France. Commentators say it was his ability to time trial and to "go over the big climbs with the best climbers" that won him the victories of four years later.
1987 was a phenomenal year for Roche and Irish cycling. He won the Tour de France, the Tour of Italy and the World Championship - a hat trick only ever achieved before that by legendary Belgian rider Eddy Merckx.
No Irish person since has equalled much less surpassed the dual achievements of Kelly and Roche but there have been some memorable moments.
In fact, Dubliner Martin Earley's victory over one Tour stage almost 10 years ago is on its own a considerable achievement. Earley, a tactically clever allround cyclist, also had the distinction of competing in eight tours in a row. For most of his career he was a team-mate of Kelly.
Paul Kimmage, now a sports journalist, started three French tours and one tour of Italy. He retired in 1989 on the 13th stage of the Tour de France to write Rough Ride, a behind the scenes account of a bike-rider's life. He has also written several moving accounts of Shay Elliot's life.
Yesterday, Elliot was commemorated at his graveside in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow by the Tour de France organisers. The peloton will pass the spot this week.