Additional Story: The Code #2
The Club initials are ACCB/St. Raphael .
The year was 1962 .
The riders were:
Worlds: 1st Jean Stablinski (Fra)
2nd Shay Elliot (Ire) This famous advert is the give-away clue!!!
Tour de France: 1st Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
Champion of France : Jean Stablinski (Fra)
3rd in Vuelta a Espana: Shay Elliot ( Ireland 's first podium in a Grand Tour)
Domestiques
Unlike Lance Armstrong, Jacques Anquetil would allow members of his team to gain personal glory through stage wins or other competitions within the Grand Tours. However it was expected that each team member would be capable of providing full support for Anquetil's GC ambitions throughout the tour. During the 1960's Anquetil built the greatest teams of the era and they included riders who were great champions in their own right. Shay Elliott and Jean Stablinski were two such riders.
Seamus ‘Shay' Elliott (Ire)
Elliot was a great rider often overlooked in cycling history. Before the likes Sean Kelly or Stephen Roche arrived on the scene, the enormously talented Shay Elliott paved the way for Irish riders. His contribution to world cycling and Irish cycling should never be forgotten. He moved to France and joined the famous ACCB opening new opportunities for English speaking riders. Because of Elliott's racing successes, Boulogne-Billancourt club became a nursery for English speaking riders. Stars like Tom Simpson, Aussie Phil Anderson, Irishman Stephen Roche and Scotsman Robert Miller spent time with the team.
Elliott had a very close relationship with teammate Jean Stablinski and would sacrifice his own ambitions in favor of his friend. Elliott should have won the world championship in Salo , Italy in 1962. Instead he helped Stablinski, a four time French champion to win the title. He had to settle for second place and the silver medal. During his preparation for the 1962 World Championships, he had finished third in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain). In the WCRR, he rode in a four-rider breakaway alongside Stablinski, RoIf Wolfshohl (Ger) and Jos Hoevenaers (Bel). In a breakaway like this his sprint made him the favorite for victory. However, he elected to look after the interests of teammate Stablinski. Elliott attacked relentlessly and sapped the remaining energy from the other two. Despite being the best sprinter of the four, the Irishman would follow his teammate across the line at +1'22” with Hoevenaers third another 22 seconds down.
The following year Elliott became the first Irishman to wear the coveted Maillot Jaune in the Tour de France and rounded off the season with a victory in Belgium at the Het Volk.
A failed marriage, the tragic death of his son in a traffic accident and financial problems ruined what might have been a happy retirement. Despite all this, he worked hard and had big plans for Irish cycling. Sadly before he could implement the plan he was found dead in his Dublin home in 1971.
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