Le Tour come to town

Tour De France: the mere mention of the three magical words are neough to send Martin Earley, a former stage winner, into giddy hyperbole. "A miracle, really a miracle," he gushes, anticipating the visit of the world's biggest annual sporting event next summer.

Apart from those lining the route in the greatest free show around, an estimated television audience of 950 million worldwide is anticipated, with 13 helicopters and four fixed wing aircraft required to capture the images of the peloton#s historic presence in Ireland.

"How can you describe it?" he muses, attempting a suitable comparison and eventually opting to measure it against previous bike races on Irish roads. "Contrasting it to, say, the Ras, it's a bit like watching a few guys kicking a football around the park one day, and then going to watch the FA Cup Final."

Le Tour is huge. It's not just 198 riders with a three kilometre cavalcade of team cars, bumper-to-bumper, following in their wake. For hours before the cyclists even reach a point on the route, a seemingly-endless caravan of cars and buses will hurt publicity material and music at the crowd. "the spectators will love it," Earley enthuses. "For many, it'll be a once-off experience, something never to be repeated."

So, for three days in July, from the 11th, the eve of the World Cup final in France, to the 13th, a date later than usual because the organisers didn't want a clash with the soccer extravaganza, the world's top cyclists will commence the quest, on Irish roads, for the yellow jersey won this year by Germany's Jan Ulrich.

They will then move to the continent to continue the great three-week long race.

It will be the 13th time the Tour has started outside of France, but none of its previous foreign starting destinations has involved the same logistical problems as bringing the race to Ireland.

Indeed, it's a tribute to the initiative and determination of Pat McQuaid (and 1987 winner Stephen Roche, who became Quaid's man in Paris pushing the dream with tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc) that the event, reputedly the third largest televised global sporting event after the Olympic Games and the soccer World cup, with media representatives from 100 countries, will have an Irish start. It is likely to be the last time, too."I don't regret it no happening in my own cycling days because, to be honest, I didn't think it was possible. The logistics alone didn't seem to make it feasible. It's a miracle to get it here," says Earley. Roche, in fact, claims that the decision to start the race in Ireland was helped by the contributions made by himself (winner in 1987), Sean Kelly and Earley in recent times.And, naturally enough, the streets of Kelly's home town of Carrick-on-Suir will feature in Le Tour 98.The Irish stages have been selected to provide a mix of good racing without being too severe so early in the Tour, but also providing spectacular television shots.The prologue time trial in Dublin city centre on Saturday will be followed by a 110 mile stage from Dublin through Bray, Arklow, Woodenbridge, Avoca, Rathdrum, Laragh and over the Wicklow Gap to Blessington and Tallaght, with the finish in the Phoenix Park; while Monday's stage will start in Enniscorthy, centre of the 1798 rebellion commemorations, pass through Kelly's home town and eventually finish, 120 miles later, in Cork. Afterwards, the riders and top officials will fly in two planes to France, while a three mile long line of vehicles will travel after them on three car ferries.So, where is the best place for a spectator? "Anywhere, really," insists Earley. "However, the start is particularly good. If you're on a fast section, the riders just whizz by - but, even then, the colour is spectacular." Indeed, the riders (who must sign on at the podium every day) are in their own special enclosure, a little village, for an hour or so before the start of the race and the first few miles of the stage are neutralised to enable the cyclists to warm up."This is a piece of history, it is never going to happen again," says Earley. "I don't think the Irish people will fully comprehend the enormity of the Tour until it takes place. They'll never have seen its likes before: it's the biggest moveable sporting event in the world, and the biggest free one." In Irish terms, it's a bit like hosting the All-Ireland final and then moving it all to another venue 100 miles away the next day.