Presentation of Roche's Rás bike, Tuesday morning.

Stephen Roche will be making a formal presentation of the bike on which he won the 1979 Rás to the Little Museum of Dublin tomorrow morning. It will take place in the Little Museum of Dublin on Tuesday May 6th at 11.15am, and any Orwell members who are available are invited to attend.

‘The Gift Bike’
Bike ridden by Stephen Roche when he won the Rás Tailteann, 1979

This TI-Raleigh Team bicycle was ridden by Stephen Roche when he won the Rás Tailteann amateur stage-race in 1979. Roche has acknowledged his Rás win as an important stepping stone to his professional career, in the course of which he won the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the World Championship in 1987.
Roche rode on an Irish team in the 1979 Rás and the bikes were sponsored by Raleigh Ireland.
Roche subsequently gave the frame to fellow Dubliner, Peter Crinnion, who was an important mentor to him in his emerging career. Crinnion himself had been a pioneering Irish cyclist – he joined a professional continental team in 1961 and helped pave the way for subsequent Irish professionals. Crinnion’s name is etched on the frame and can be vaguely discerned on the underneath of the right-hand chain-stay.
In turn, Crinnion gave the frame to Gene Mangan who won the Rás in 1955 and who has a significant collection of historic bikes, racing memorabilia and documentation. Mangan restored the frame and fitted it with the relevant Campognolo, Cinelli and Mavic componentry.
Mangan later gave the bike to its current owner, Tom Daly, in acknowledgement of his documenting the history of the Rás (2003), and the political and social context from which it emerged and developed.
Therefore, from Raleigh Ireland to its present custodian, the bicycle has had five owners without any money changing hands. Hence, it has been referred to as ‘The Gift Bike’.
TI-Raleigh Team bikes were at the very top of the range in their day. The frame was of Reynolds steel-alloy tubing and fitted with Campagnolo Record groupsets. The bikes were also used by the TI-Raleigh professional team which had much success at that period, including 11 Tour de France stage wins and a string of victories in classic races such as Paris-Nice, Amstel Gold Race and Ronde van Vlaanderen.
The Roche bike weighs 9.6 Kg, approximately 1.5 Kg heavier than modern top-end racing bikes.
www.littlemuseum.ie/