The BIG regret about the Tour de France starting here is that after the great Stephen Roche-Sean Kelly glory years there is no Irishman taking part.
However, all the present top names in world cycling will be in action on Irish roads, many sections of which have been specially repaired and resurfaced, and the prologue time trial over a closed Dublin city centre circuit of 5.6 kilometres gets under way this afternoon at 3.25. The publicity cavalcade is usually an hour ahead of the riders, today it rolls away at 1.50.
The 21 teams of nine are headed by Telekom with last year's winner Jan Ullrich number one. Also included in the German squad is Bjarne Riis, the winner in 1996 when Ullrich was second, and Erik Zabel, who is going for a third win in a row in the green jersey points classification. Zabel won the German championship last Sunday with Ullrich second.
Festina have Richard Virenque, Alex Zuelle and world champion Laurent Brochard; Saeco include their great sprinter Mario Cipollini while Tour of Italy winner Marco Pantani heads Mercatone Uno. World number one and new French champion Laurent Jalabert leads ONCE with GAN headed by Britain's Chris Boardman, who must be favourite to be fastest in the prologue time trial for a third time.
Abraham Olano is leader of Banesto and although Mapei top the world team rankings, ahead of Festina and Telekom, they have no overall contender though Belgian champion Tom Steels can do well in stage end bunch sprints. The other teams are Casino, Rabobank, TVM, Polti, Lotto, La Francois des Jeux, Kelme, US Postal, Asics, Cofidis, Vitalicio, Riso Scotti and Big Mat.
The prologue time trial will not get many people over excited with the riders going off at one-minute intervals. The first man leaves the starting hut in College Green at 3.25 and, after going along Nassau Street, Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Street, Leeson Street, St Stephen's Green, Cuffe Street, Kevin Street, Patrick Street, Winetavern Street, Ormond Quay and Bachelor's Walk is expected to finish seven minutes later in O'Connell Street. The top men in the teams go off last with Ullrich setting out at 6.33.
When the Tour director JeanMarie Leblanc contacted the weather experts early in the year he was told that it had not rained in Dublin on the second Saturday in July for 25 years. That still does not mean that the Dublin streets will be dry today but hopefully the fickle Irish weather will be favourable for the occasion. There should be a spectacular finale to the 180 kilometres stage one in the Phoenix Park tomorrow. It is neutralised from O'Connell Street (11.15) to Dundrum, in honour of 1987 winner Stephen Roche, and the flag will drop for racing to start there at 11.45 and go up Kilmacud Road and then Stillorgan. The first bonus sprint is at Bray with another at Arklow and the Wicklow Gap is classed as a third category climb after 111 kilometres - points go to the first five with 10 to the leader.
The third bonus sprint is at Blessington and there will then be a fast run-in down to the Tallaght bypass and along Templeogue Road,Cypress Grove Road, Templeville Road, Greentrees Road, Walkinstown Avenue, Naas Road, Tyrconnell Road, Emmet Road, South Circular Road, St John's Road, around Heuston Station and over the bridge to Parkgate Street and then into the Phoenix Park.
When the riders pass the finishing point on the main road in the Park, before the Phoenix monument, they continue on up to Mountjoy Corner and go right-handed for a circuit of seven kilometres around by the Garda Depot for the finishing sprint back up the main road, the estimated time of arrival is between 3.50 and 4.15.
Stage two starts in Enniscorthy on Monday morning at 10 o'clock for the 205 kilometres to Cork. The first bonus sprint is in Waterford with the next one at Carrick-on-Suir, visited in honour of Sean Kelly, and there is a third category climb out of Carrick (88 km) with a fourth category one 23 km later at Curtiswood, after Dungarvan.
Youghal is the location of the third bonus sprint and after racing through Cork along Patrick Street, Grand Parade, Washington Street and out on to Western Road the finish is on the Carrigrohane straight at approximately 2.50. The riders then fly to Brest while all the vehicles and equipment go by ferry to Roscoff.
Although Boardman can take the first yellow jersey after the prologue time trial he is unlikely to be able to hold it for all of the Irish visit with substantial bonuses available to the sprinters and Cipollini, Zabel, Frederic Moncassin, Jeroen Blijlevens and Steels expected to be to the fore in the Phoenix Park and at Cork. Bray will provide spectators with their first opportunity to see Cipollini's famed sprint and he should figure prominently at most of the bonus sprints and win at least one of the Irish stages. The feeding station tomorrow is at Avoca and at Lemybrien on Monday.
There are no bonuses today, it is just a straight-forward time trial to find the first yellow jersey holder but on the two Irish road stages and the six other flat stages before the Pyrenean climbs the bonus system applies. In addition to points at the bonus sprints the leader earns six seconds with four and two for second and third while the first three at the finish in the Phoenix Park and Cork are allowed bonuses of 20 seconds, 12 and eight.
Tuesday's stage three in France, on Bastile Day, is from Roscoff to Lorient and there will be further opportunities for the sprinters before the stage seven time trial over a circuit of 58 kilometres tomorrow week at Meyrignac-l'Eglise to Correze. Two more flat stages follow before two days in the Pyrenees and although there are then four days in the Alps the climbs are not regarded as severe enough for Virenque and Pantani to take a firm grip - there is just one mountain top finish, stage 11 next Wednesday week at Plateau de Beille, where they rest the next day. When the route was announced Virenque said it would not suit him as it was too easy while Tour of Italy winner Pantani said it would be impossible for him to complete the double as there are not enough tough climbs. However, most of the usual major peaks have to be tackled and although Virenque and Pantani maintain it is an `easy' course not many would agree with them.
When I saw Pantani winning at Alpe d'Huez last year and again at Morzine two days later he certainly looked like a Tour de France winner. He and Virenque must be included in any short list for Tour '98 honours with Ullrich, Riis, Zuelle, Olano and Jalabert.
At the start of the season 24-yearold Ullrich had a huge weight problem but he has beaten the bulge with a severe training routine and while team-mate Riis, who is now 33, may be one of his main rivals another win for Ullrich looks the most likely outcome in Paris on August 2nd after a total of 3,873 kilometres.
