{"id":45146,"title":"Retro Spring Classics: When Kelly met Vanderaerden","description":"When the last true cycling all-rounder superstar Sean Kelly was challenged by the new Belgian wonder kid Eric Vanderaerden it quickly turned nasty. Their enmity was ironically a result of their similarities. Two deadly rivals with a hunger to win at almost any cost. We look back at the parallel careers of two of the best riders of their generation who between them won eleven of Cycling's Monuments, seven stages of the Tour de France, the green points jersey at the Tour de France five times and over 250 wins.","content":"

Rijden: From cobbles to cross - cycling's true heart<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Published in<\/strong>: <\/span>COBBLES & CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

When the last true cycling all-round superstar Sean Kelly was challenged by new Belgian wonder kid Eric Vanderaerden it quickly turned nasty. Their enmity was a result of their similarity. Two deadly rivals with a hunger to win at almost any cost.<\/p>

We look back at the parallel careers of two of the best riders of their generation. Between them they won eleven of Cycling's Monuments, seven stages of the Tour de France, the Tour\u2019s green points jersey five times and over 250 victories.<\/p>

\"SpringSean Kelly at Paris-Roubaix. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

Sean Kelly & Eric Vanderaerden<\/h2>

Under different circumstances, cycling legends and implacable opponents, Ireland\u2019s Sean Kelly and Belgian Eric Vanderaerden might have been friends. Maybe, but probably not.<\/p>

When the talented Vanderaerden literally crashed into the world of professional cycling in 1983, Kelly had already spent six seasons in the world\u2019s toughest pelotons. It was the year that saw the Irishman transform from Grand Tour sprinter to Grand Tour contender and classics great.<\/p>

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\"*\"That they shared similar talents, although Kelly was a much more proficient climber, meant they would square up to one another in the same events. Like a young buck taking on the established stag, a clash was inevitable.<\/p>

1983 Kelly v Vanderaerden<\/h2>

The fires of the cauldron had been stoked long before they came to verbal and even physical blows. Kelly and his peers had served their apprenticeship riding for their superiors such as Freddy Maertens, Michel Pollentier and Marc Demeyer.<\/p>

The young Kelly had snatched wins in his first seasons but only when he'd performed his domestique duties or the race was of no importance to his team leaders.<\/p>

\u201clike his foe, was prepared to race hard and take risks\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Vanderaerden had already been feted as a junior and his place in the professional peloton was never in doubt. He arrived with a great weight of expectation. He had no intention of dutifully serving time and, like his foe, was prepared to race hard and take risks.<\/p>

Paris-Nice 1983<\/h3>

The two ill-starred adversaries arrived at the start line of the 1983 Paris-Nice with different expectations but both in excellent form. Kelly was aiming to repeat his overall victory of 1982, whilst Vanderaerden looked for stage wins.<\/p>

The pair had already faced up to one another at the Grand Prix of Monaco and Cannes. But these were only early season training races. These preparation events were once a feature of the February cycling calendar before someone has the idea and budget to jet off to the warmer climes of the Gulf.<\/p>

\"EricEric Vanderaerden heads to victory at the 1987 Paris-Roubaix. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

It was two-nil to the Irishman after their first encounters but the young pretender was snapping at his heels. Vanderaerden reversed the trend at the opening spring classic of Het Volk where he was an impressive fourteenth to Kelly's 40th.<\/p>

The next day Kelly was second at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne behind Ti-Raleigh\u2019s Jan Raas but again Vanderaerden was only just behind in fifth. Already, the twenty-one year old had demonstrated his potential to be a thorn in the side of his established elders.<\/p>

\u201cIt was Paris-Nice where their rivalry turned feisty\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

It was Paris-Nice where their rivalry turned feisty. It was advantage Vanderaerden after the prologue time trial where the Belgian served out a five-second beating to noted time trialists Kelly, fellow Irishman Stephen Roche and specialist Alain Bondue.<\/p>

\"Men's<\/u><\/a>The pair almost literally came to blows after a sprint stage when race leader Vanderaerden was judged to have caused a crash that saw Kelly plummet down the rankings for race leadership. Sean was incensed and told his rival so. Allegedly threatening the Belgian with physical violence.<\/p>

By the conclusion of the week-long stage race at the top of Col d\u2019eze, it was three wins to two in favour of the reigning champion who repeated his overall victory of 1982. Vanderaerden was fourteenth, over ten minutes behind.<\/p>

Milano-Sanremo 1983<\/h3>

At the first monument of the year, Milano-Sanremo, Vanderaerden was fourth in the bunch sprint one place ahead of Kelly. The Belgian was third at Dwars door Belgi\u00eb (now known as Dwars door Vlaanderen) whilst the Irishman could only finish twentieth.<\/p>

The pair managed to avoid one another until the Tour de France. On their way, Kelly was overall champion at the Crit\u00e9rium International and Tour de Suisse, whilst Vanderaerden took out two stages at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>

Tour de France 1983<\/h3>

The young permed Vanderaerden stunned the cycling world when he pushed \u201cprologue World Champion\u201d Bert Oosterbosch down into second place by two seconds. Eric tore around the five-kilometre Fontenay-sous-Bois course thirteen seconds faster than his Irish rival. Kelly, a superb time trialist may have expected more than his fourteenth place.<\/p>

\u201ca win that heralded a new dimension to his talents\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Surely wins would come for the former Irish farm hand later during the next three weeks. But what no one would have expected at this point was that his previous year\u2019s Tour de France stage victory at Pau would have been his last ever. It had been a win that heralded a new dimension to his talents. It came after he survived the mountains with the Tour\u2019s best climbers, then proceeded to outsprint them.<\/p>

\"Subscribe<\/u><\/a>Neither Kelly nor Vanderaerden were able to win another stage during the 1983 Tour de France. Both went close on several occasions. The young Belgian pulled out after stage nine whilst Kelly finished seventh overall and stood on the podium in Paris as the winner of the points classification for the second consecutive year.<\/p>

Il Lombardia 1983<\/h3>

Kelly rounded out the year with eighth place in the World Championships at Altenrhein behind a rampant Greg Lemond<\/strong><\/a> and his first triumph in a Monument at Il Lombardia. It was Sean\u2019s opportunity to turn the tables on Lemond.<\/p>

A select group of eighteen pounded into Como after the hills around the beautiful lakes had taken their toll. Kelly had an ally in the group. Rival and former teammate Claude Criquielion knew he had little chance in the sprint but did his best to assist his long-time friend.<\/p>

\"SeanSean Kelly pictured in 1981, his last racing for a Belgian team. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

In the closest of sprints, Kelly just nudged ahead of Lemond, Adrie van der Poel, Henie Kuiper and Francesco Moser. Criquielion finished fourteenth but would receive his reward later.<\/p>

\u201cIt would prove to be both a blessing and a curse\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The Irishman had proven he was a true all-rounder and now officially with his Monument victory a great of the sport. He was a bunch sprinter, a time trialist, a climber and a classics man. It would prove to be both a blessing and a curse.<\/p>

1984 Kelly's incredible year<\/h2>

Sean had an incredible year in 1984. After overall victory at Paris-Nice, he finished second at Milano-Sanremo. Home favourite, Francesco Moser on a course better suited to his limited climbing abilities, came home clear by twenty seconds ahead of a group of forty riders.<\/p>

\u201che was often left on his own at the denouement\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Sean had few friends on that occasion and certainly Vanderaerden who finished third was not going to help. The Irishman\u2019s Skil-Reydel-Sem team lacked the strength to provide the support he needed and he was often left on his own at the denouement.<\/p>

If Milano-Sanremo was a near miss, the Irishman made no mistake at the Crit\u00e9rium International before another second place at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. It was a similar story. A lack of teammates at the finish and a group unwilling to work with the better sprinter. It allowed Johan Lammerts to take a surprise personal victory for the much stronger Panasonic-Raleigh team.<\/p>

Kelly's purple patch<\/h3>

At least he beat Vanderaerden who finished tenth but ominously the Belgian was now on the books of Peter Post\u2019s Panasonic-Raleigh squad. They\u2019d placed three riders in the top ten at De Ronde. But by now, Kelly had hit a purple patch.<\/p>

\u201cover a thousand miles away\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The day after the Tour of Flanders finished, he was on the start line for La Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, over a thousand kilometres away in Northern Spain.<\/p>

If the travelling affected him, it didn\u2019t show. He won three of the six stages on his way to overall victory and the points classification. Two days later he was back in Northern France for the start of Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>

Paris-Roubaix 1984<\/h3>

After seven and a half hours racing across the hellish cobbles of L\u2019Enfer du Nord, he easily outsprinted Rudy Rogiers. The latter appeared to go through the motions of a sprint. Either extreme exhaustion or the certainty of defeat gave the impression of a man who knew his fate.<\/p>

\u201cfifteen minutes down on the seemingly God-like Kelly\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Vanderaerden was Panasonic-Raleigh\u2019s best finisher in twenty-eighth place almost fifteen minutes down on the seemingly God-like Kelly. If this was not enough, a week later, the Irishman outsprinted Phil Anderson and Greg Lemond to take his third Monument at La Doyenne - Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>

\"Retro<\/u><\/a>Eric Vanderaerden wasn\u2019t enjoying the same level of success. It wasn\u2019t a disastrous season. He\u2019d picked up stage wins at Driedaagse van De Panne, Quatre Jours de Dunkerque and the Tour de Suisse before being crowned Belgian Champion.<\/p>

Pressure from Post<\/h3>

There was tremendous pressure from his boss, Peter Post, to score the big wins that created publicity for the team\u2019s sponsors. And so the scene was set for the 1984 Tour de France. The Panasonic-Raleigh rider\u2019s aim was clear. To win as many individual stages as possible. For Kelly, riding his seventh Tour de France it was more complex.<\/p>

\"EricEric Vaneraereden rides the World Championships in 1981, his penultimate season as an amateur. Image: The Mick Searle Collection.<\/em><\/p>

He\u2019d finished seventh the year before and taken his second consecutive green jersey as the points classification winner. Should he focus on the overall, the points jersey or just the stages? Battling out the sprints against the younger and perhaps more desperate riders like Vanderaerden was risky and draining.<\/p>

Tour de France 1984<\/h3>

Whilst there was certainly a degree of animosity between the two deadly opponents in the bunch sprints, they had something in common. Interviewed for StickyBottle, the Belgian admitted that they were the same when it came to the sprints - neither would give up. They both had an insatiable desire to win. It\u2019s no surprise that Sean Kelly\u2019s autobiography was titled Hunger<\/em>.<\/p>

\u201canyone watching already knew, he could be reckless\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Vanderaerden also confirmed what anyone watching already knew, he could be reckless. Pushing, shoving, whatever it took.<\/p>

In almost every sprint stage of the 1984 Tour de France the Belgian beat his deadly rival. He picked off two stages, including the coveted final in Paris. But due to his extraordinary consistency, Kelly came out on top in the points classification again whilst Eric was third.<\/p>

Dubious time trial results<\/h3>

The Irishman came closest in two of the three time trial stages where he was second on both occasions behind Tour winner, Laurent Fignon. In the final time trial, Fignon and Kelly were officially separated by an improbably small time gap.<\/p>

\u201csomeone had to win and why not a French hero?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Many queried how it was possible to determine the winner on hand-held analogue timing devices, but someone had to win and why not a French hero?<\/p>

Of the twenty-three stages of that year\u2019s Tour, Kelly finished in the top ten of sixteen of them before placing fifth overall.<\/p>

1985 Vanderaerden breaks through<\/h2>

By 1985, Vanderaerden was reaching the peak of his powers. Fourth at Milano-Sanremo, three places ahead of Kelly, second at Dwars door Belgie behind teammate Eddy Planckaert and sixth at E3 Prijs Harelbeke, again ahead of his arch-rival. He was a man in form.<\/p>

Storming the Tour of Flanders 1985<\/h3>

The Tour of Flanders is a famously tough race but the 1985 edition was made harder still as the remnants of a storm swept across the Flemish Ardennes. Torrential rain combined with near zero degrees temperatures ensured it would be less a race and more a battle for survival.<\/p>

\u201crelished the wind and rain\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Sean Kelly had a deserved reputation as a \u2018hard man\u2019 of cycling who relished the wind and rain. Privately he'd admit that he disliked the conditions as much as anyone else. He found, however, that his body could tolerate it better than most which gave him an advantage.<\/p>

Puncturing on the Koppenberg<\/h3>

Not on this occasion though. He suffered terribly with the cold and the power left his legs as an awful chill sucked the strength from him. Vanderaerden was having his own problem. Puncturing at the foot of the Koppenberg he took a teammate\u2019s wheel before remounting and weaving his way past the walking stragglers who struggled for grip on the drenched cobbles.<\/p>

\u201cKelly flailed his unwilling muscles in pursuit\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Making it back to the front he eventually joined up with teammate Phil Anderson and Hennie Kuiper. Behind, Kelly flailed his unwilling muscles in pursuit. Realising that victory was beyond his grasp he rode on with one aim - to prevent a Vanderaerden win.<\/p>

How disappointed he was when he crossed the line in fourteenth place to discover that Vanderaerden had dropped Anderson and Kuiper on the Muur van Geraardsbergen on his way to a popular home win.<\/p>

At least Kelly retained his honour and finished. An achievement only matched by twenty-three other riders out of the one hundred and seventy-three who'd set off from St Niklaas nearly seven hours earlier.<\/p>

\"SeanSean Kelly can look back on a fantastic career as a professional cyclist. Image: The Mick Searle Collection.<\/em><\/p>

The Kelly-Vanderaerden battles would continue to simmer over the next few seasons. Wherever they met on terrain that suited their mutual talents, the potential for their hostility to overspill was always present.<\/p>

1988 Vanderaerden\u2019s decline<\/h2>

In 1987, Eric claimed his second and final Monument victory at Paris-Roubaix but by 1988, the lustre around his star was beginning to fade. He failed to make much impact in the 1988 and 1989 Tour de France and hadn't won any one day races of real note.<\/p>

Tour of Ireland 1989<\/h3>

He still managed to cast a pall over Sean\u2019s season in 1989. Since the Tour of Ireland\u2019s instigation in 1985 as a response to the unprecedented results of Sean and fellow countryman Stephen Roche, Kelly had won the first three editions and finished third in the fourth.<\/p>

\u201cEric totally dominated and humiliated the opposition\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Despite his modest year, Eric totally dominated and humiliated the opposition at the 1989 Tour of Ireland, winning four of the six stages. Kelly was bitter in defeat. Of all the people to win in his home country.<\/p>

The final years<\/h3>

Vanderaerden never again looked like the same rider. His final season was spent riding for the modest Palmans team. By the end of 1996, he was just another ex-bike rider.<\/p>

\u201che snatched certain triumph from Moreno Argentin\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Kelly rode on until 1994 after a staggering eighteen years in the professional peloton. The victories kept coming right up until his final few years with overall victory at the 1988 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, a second Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge in 1989, a third Giro di Lombardia in 1991 and a second but unlikely win at the 1992 Milano-Sanremo when he snatched certain triumph from Moreno Argentin after a daring descent of the Poggio.<\/p>

1994 Sean Kelly\u2019s final year<\/h3>

Kelly's final two years lacked any professional victories and he signed for one last time in 1994 with the brand new Catavana team who\u2019s main sponsor had one aim - selection for the Tour de France. When that failed to materialise, the team was disbanded. Not that Kelly minded. His heart was no longer in it and he'd only signed for one last pay cheque.<\/p>

Why didn\u2019t Sean Kelly win the Tour de France?<\/h2>

Could Sean Kelly have won the Tour de France if he\u2019d taken a different approach? It\u2019s a question we\u2019ll never know the answer to.<\/p>

Equally, given his palmares as a one-day rider, we could ask why didn\u2019t he win cycling\u2019s Professional World Championships? He was close on two occasions, finishing third at Goodwood in 1982 and Chamb\u00e9ry in 1989.<\/p>

He was beaten by riders whom in other circumstances he\u2019d expect to out sprint. At Goodwood, in an uphill sprint, Giuseppe Saronni was unbeatable that day and at Chamb\u00e9ry he felt he was under geared in the dash for the line against Greg Lemond.<\/p>

Those two defeats reflect the challenge he faced in winning the Tour de France. His rivals were better prepared and better supported by their teams, although admittedly most of the US team at Chamb\u00e9ry were able to provide little assistance to Lemond.<\/p>

Throughout the majority of his career as a potential World Champion and Tour de France winner, Kelly was handicapped by weak teams and crazy racing schedules.<\/p>

He also had to balance the competing demands of racing for the yellow and green jerseys as well as chasing stage victories. None of his challengers for the yellow jersey faced this problem.<\/p>

Likewise, leading up to the World Championships, whilst his potential rivals were riding stage races or on training camps, Kelly would be pursuing the money at the exhausting post-Tour de France criteriums<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>

\"*\"READ MORE<\/strong>: What are the post-Tour criteriums, why do riders take part and is it true the results are fixed? Read our <\/em>guide to the post-Tour de France criteriums<\/em><\/strong><\/a> to find out where to watch your Tour de France heroes in action and, with the help of an anonymous rider, we reveal all.<\/em><\/p>

\"*\"Could Kelly have won the Tour de France? We shall never know but his career and approach made him a wealthy man who would never have to worry about money again. A luxury denied to many of his peers.<\/p>

Post-retirement<\/h2>

If you thought their paths wouldn\u2019t cross again you\u2019d be mistaken. Fate can play many tricks and so it was for Sean and Eric. Kelly had established the Sean Kelly Academy based in Belgium.<\/p>

Initially a club team, it was registered as a UCI Continental team. By 2017 it had already helped to establish the careers of Sam Bennett, Ryan Mullen, Conor Dunne and Matt Brammeier.<\/p>

Massimo Vanderaerden<\/h3>

For the 2017 season the team, known as An Post-ChainReaction signed one Massimo Vanderaerden. Eric\u2019s son was starting his second season riding at the UCI Continental level and he joined the Irish registered squad as the sole Belgian. The team were backed by Ireland\u2019s state postal service An Post and Northern Ireland bike retailer ChainReaction.<\/p>

\u201cthey\u2019d never be friends\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Inevitably, signing Massimo to his team brought Sean in contact with Eric. They both confirmed that they\u2019d never be friends, maintaining a cordial and professional relationship for the purposes of team harmony. The past animosity wasn\u2019t personal just a by-product of racing.<\/p>

Some of the mainly youthful team, such as Mark Stewart, continued their professional careers after the team closed at the end of the 2017 season. Massimo Vanderaerden was not one of them. His season was undistinguished and he failed to finish most of the UCI races he started.<\/p>

An Post had already announced they would pull out of sponsorship earlier in the year and the team blamed the effects of Brexit and the political situation in Catalunya for deterring potential sponsors.<\/p>

Eurosport commentator<\/h3>

After cycling, Kelly moved back home to Ireland, living on a farm where he kept cattle, horses and donkeys. He has remained in the limelight for cycling fans in his role as a commentator for Eurosport. His laconic style is an amusing but knowledgeable counter to the histrionics of co-commentators like Carlton Kirby and Rob Hatch.<\/p>

\u201cwaffling and pontificating at length\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Responding to an almost hysterical \u201cNo, no no, no, no!\u201d from Hatch, Kelly interjected with a quiet but simple \u201cAh yes, he\u2019s fallen off.\u201d After Kirby had been waffling and pontificating at length about some grand theory of his on race tactics, he finally paused and asked Sean \u201cDo you agree Sean?\u201d, Kelly replied with a one word rebuttal \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>

Rarely does the Irishman talk about his own career, except when pushed by his co-commentator, and then he downplays his successes. He\u2019s more likely to focus on the suffering, invoking his phrase \u201cMajorly suffering\u201d. He exudes the impression of a man who doesn\u2019t miss the sacrifices and lives in the present and not the past.<\/p>

The Vanderaerden cycling dynasty<\/h3>

Eric took up management roles upon his retirement but none with major teams. He\u2019s acted as a VIP and sponsor, driver and \u201cmeeter and greeter\u201d. His son Massimo was joined in the professional ranks by his brother Micha\u00ebl, Eric's brothers Gert and Danny and his nephew Kenneth Vanbilsen and niece Anna Vanderaerden.<\/p>

\u201crestore glory to the Vanderaerden surname\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The latter turned professional in 2024 with the Fenix-Deceuninck Development team and picked up a couple of sprint wins. None of her male relations came close to matching the success of Uncle Eric. Perhaps Anna can restore glory to the Vanderaerden surname.<\/p>

\"Read<\/u><\/a><\/p>

Palmares<\/h2>

Tour de France<\/h3>

Sean Kelly: Five stage wins. Four green jerseys. 4th overall (1985).<\/p>

Eric Vanderaerden: Five stage wins. One green jersey. 87th overall (1985).<\/p>

Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a<\/h3>

Sean Kelly: Sixteen stage wins. Four points jerseys. 1st overall (1988).<\/p>

Eric Vanderaerden: Three stage wins. 102nd overall (1991).<\/p>

Giro d\u2019Italia<\/h3>

Sean Kelly: DNF (1992).<\/p>

Eric Vanderaerden: 75th (1988).<\/p>

Monuments<\/h3>

Sean Kelly: Milano-Sanremo (1986, 1992), Paris-Roubaix (1984, 1986), Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge (1984, 1989), Il Lombardia (1983, 1985, 1991).<\/p>

Eric Vanderaerden: Paris-Roubaix (1987), Tour of Flanders (1985).<\/p>

19 March 2025, Tim Costello<\/em><\/p>

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