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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Kevin Taylor

Six Irish riders who won Tour de France stages as Sam Bennett makes history

Sam Bennett became just the sixth Irish rider to win a stage at the Tour de France this afternoon as he claimed Stage 10 of the historic race.

The 29-year-old followed in the footsteps of Shay Elliott, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley and Dan Martin in achieving the feat.

Here, Mirror Sport looks at the five other riders who have claimed stages at the Tour.

Shay Elliott

One of Ireland's greatest riders on the international stage and the first English-speaker to lead the Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France.

Dubliner Eliott held the yellow jersey for three days and was the first Irishman to win a stage at the 1963 Tour de France.

Sean Kelly

15 years after Elliott conquered a stage, Sean Kelly claimed success in Stage 6 in 1978.

In 1980 he was the victor in two Tour de France stages and also won stages in 1981 and 1982.

Sean Kelly wins the Vuelta a Espana (©INPHO/James Meehan)

The decorated rider finished a glittering career with 193 professional wins, including the Vuelta a Espana in 1988, a UCI Road World Cup in 1989 and four top-10 overall finishes in the Tour de France.

Stephen Roche

The 1987 Tour de France winner won individual stages in 1985, '87 and '92.

1987 Tour de France winner Stephen Roche (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

Dubliner Roche ended his career with 58 professional wins, including the triple crown of the Giro d'Italia, World Road Race Championship and Tour de France in that famous 1987 season.

Martin Earley

Earley's Stage 8 win at the 1989 Tour de France was one of his nine professional victories before a switch to mountain biking, the sport in which he competed at the 1996 Olympics.

Dan Martin

Current Irish star Dan Martin won Stage 9 at the Tour de France in 2013 and won Stage 6 two years ago in 2018.

Dan Martin (AFP/Getty Images)

He is 66th in the general standings of this year's competition, the highest-placed Irishman currently in the leaderboard.

Bennett, meanwhile, is leading the points classification and holds the green jersey.

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