A GROUP OF Irish cycling fans plan to establish an ‘Irish Corner’ on the mythical Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France this year.
Fans from the Netherlands have congregated on the raucous ‘Dutch Corner’ for years, creating a party atmosphere while willing their favourites up the mountain.
“Every year the Dutch take over a corner of the climb on one of the biggest climbs of the Tour de France, said Stephen O’Shea, one of the organisers behind the plans for the 18 July stage.
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“They migrate in huge groups to the Tour de France, they all wear orange, they sing traditional Dutch songs, drink Dutch beer and have everything Dutch for a huge area of the road. They’ve been doing it for years and we want to rival it.
“The idea came from the Euros last year and looking at what the Irish football fans did and it’d be great if we could get something similar going. So the road will be covered in green and gold paint and we’d say bring bring as many flags, hammers, Italia ’90 jerseys will be popular, whatever.
“Those at the Ras would have got green T-shirts at the start and finish of stages so there’ll be plenty of them, Morph suits are ideal too. But anything green is the message,” he adds.
Noted climber Dan Martin — a nephew of Stephen Roche — will co-lead a strong-looking Garmin team. And the party will rival that at Dutch Corner if he can claim a famous first Tour stage win.
“Definitely,” says Canty. “We’ll be camping there overnight and probably the next night probably and we’re ready to take on the Dutch.”
Irish supporters are urged to meet on Corner 10 from 10am; you can follow @IrishCorner10 on Twitter for updates between now and 18 July or see StickyBottle for more.
Cycling fans organise 'Irish Corner' on iconic Tour de France climb
A GROUP OF Irish cycling fans plan to establish an ‘Irish Corner’ on the mythical Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France this year.
Fans from the Netherlands have congregated on the raucous ‘Dutch Corner’ for years, creating a party atmosphere while willing their favourites up the mountain.
“Every year the Dutch take over a corner of the climb on one of the biggest climbs of the Tour de France, said Stephen O’Shea, one of the organisers behind the plans for the 18 July stage.
“They migrate in huge groups to the Tour de France, they all wear orange, they sing traditional Dutch songs, drink Dutch beer and have everything Dutch for a huge area of the road. They’ve been doing it for years and we want to rival it.
“Those at the Ras would have got green T-shirts at the start and finish of stages so there’ll be plenty of them, Morph suits are ideal too. But anything green is the message,” he adds.
Noted climber Dan Martin — a nephew of Stephen Roche — will co-lead a strong-looking Garmin team. And the party will rival that at Dutch Corner if he can claim a famous first Tour stage win.
“Definitely,” says Canty. “We’ll be camping there overnight and probably the next night probably and we’re ready to take on the Dutch.”
Irish supporters are urged to meet on Corner 10 from 10am; you can follow @IrishCorner10 on Twitter for updates between now and 18 July or see StickyBottle for more.
Here’s a sample of the vibe they’re going for:
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