Sean Kelly digs deep during a mountain stage of the 1989 Tour de France, in which he claimed his fourth and final green points jersey, which was a record at the time. 

Riding for PDM-Concorde, he finished 9th overall in GC and, at 33, was the second-oldest man left in the race by the time it reached the Alps. The Carrick man’s flying form also saw him win the “Maillot Rouge” for the intermediate sprints classification that year; the last time the red jersey was awarded. Greg LeMond ultimately pipped Laurent Fignon by eight seconds on the last day in Paris.

By the by, Rob Van de Merwe, the Dutchman behind the wheel of Kelly & co’s state-of-the-art £75,000 black Mercedes team “comfort coach”, which was the envy of the pro peloton, doubled as the Bee Gees tour bus driver in Europe that summer.