Roche's swansong the last link in Ireland's chain of competitors

Stephen Roche's swansong in 1993 was the last time an Irish rider lined out in the Tour de France, bringing to a close a period when six Irish professionals finished cycling's toughest event. Roche won the Tour outright in 1987 and finished first in three stages in all. Since retiring he has worked as a race commentator for Eurosport, although this year his Tour de France duties will be limited to presenting the daily Coeur de Lion combativity award. He runs a successful cycle training camp in Majorca and also has a hotel in the South of France, where he now lives.

Sean Kelly finished 12 Tours, winning the green jersey four times, taking five stages and finishing fourth overall in 1985. Kelly returned to Ireland after his retirement in 1992 and now lives in Carrick on Suir. He will commentate for Eurosport during this year's Tour and will also cover the remaining World Cup races. Kelly does promotional work for SRAM bicycle components and the National Council for the Blind's Blazing Saddles campaign. Like Roche, he has had to contend with doping allegations since the Festina scandal of 1998. Both riders have denied any wrongdoing.

Martin Earley is best known for his stage win in Pau in 1989, when he also achieved his best placing of 44th overall. He retired from the continental peloton in 1993 and began mountain bike racing with the Raleigh team, culminating in a 25th-place finish in the Atlanta Olympics. Earley has now a practice as a physical therapist in Stafford and also coaches several cyclists, including Irish Olympians Robin Seymour and Tarja Owens.

Paul Kimmage was a professional for three years and finished the Tour once, in 1986. Towards the end of his cycling career he began writing articles on the sport for the Sunday Tribune, and is now a successful journalist with the Sunday Independent. He has completed two books: A Rough Ride, the award-winning account of his experiences as a professional cyclist, and The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino.

Laurence Roche followed his brother Stephen into the professional peloton in 1989 and became the sixth Irish rider to complete the Tour de France in 1991. He retired from the sport at the end of that year and returned to Ireland, where he took a business studies degree. He now works as an accounts manager for the Lyreco stationary company.

Shay Elliot was the trailblazer, the first Irish rider to finish the Tour (1958) and the first to win a stage and take the yellow jersey (both in 1963). Other career highlights include holding yellow in the Tour of Spain and a silver medal in the world championship road race in 1962. He retired in 1964 but later attempted an unsuccessful comeback. Elliot died in tragic circumstances in 1971.