Paul Kimmage

Paul Kimmage (born May 7, 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an award-winning sports journalist who writes for the Sunday Times newspaper in the United Kingdom and is a former professional road bicycle racer.

Kimmage was born into a cycling family - his father, Christy, was road race champion of Ireland in 1962 and his brothers Raphael and Kevin were also successful.

Career

Amateur career

Paul Kimmage had a prominent career as an amateur, notably his 6th place at the amateur world road race championship. His brothers also enjoyed the spotlight - Raphael finished second in the 1984 Ras Tailteann while Kevin won the race in 1991.

Kimmage replicated his reputation as a successful amateur in Ireland, for the French ACBB team and the Belgian CC Wasquel amateur team. He also represented his country at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Notable performances as an amateur included July 5, 1981 where he became the national road race champion ahead of the old but still competitive Paddy Flanagan. [cite paper|title=Kimmage wins Irish championships|author=Jim McArdle|publisher=Irish Times|date=1981-07-06] He was sixth in the 1985 amateur world road championship. He also finished ninth in a professional race, Bordeaux-Paris behind Belgian René Martens in 1985. [cite web|url=http://www.cyclebase.nl/?lang=nl&news=nl&pc=normal&page=renner&db=m&id=8415|title=Paul Kimmage|publisher=Cyclebase.nl|accessdate=2007-09-11]

Professional career

In 1986 Kimmage joined the RMO team under Bernard Thévenet. During his time in the peloton he wrote pieces in Irish newspapers interested in the sport because of the success of countrymen Stephen Roche and Seán Kelly.

His career includes ninth on stage 7 of the 1986 Tour de France before completing the Tour in 131st place (his only finish in 3 participations of the Tour). He was in the Irish team with Stephen Roche, Seán Kelly and Martin Earley that prepared together and competed at the UCI Road World Championships in 1987 that ended with a win by Stephen Roche. Several weeks later during the 1987 Nissan Classic in which Kimmage finished eighth, Kelly thanked Roche, Earley and Kimmage for closing the gap to a break and ensuring his yellow jersey. [cite paper|title=Pelier wins stage but Kelly takes lead|publisher=The Irish Times|date=Friday October 2nd 1987|author=Jim McArdle]

Kimmage left RMO at the end of 1988 and rode for half a season for the Fagor-MBK team of Stephen Roche and Eddy Schepers with directeur sportif Patrick Valcke. He supported Roche in the 1989 Giro d'Italia which was won by Laurent Fignon with Roche finishing ninth. Kimmage was planning on ending his professional cycling career at the end of the 1989 Nissan Classic which ended each year on O'Connell Street in Dublin but after Roche had to withdraw from the 1989 Tour de France, Kimmage withdrew and subsequently gave up as a professional. [cite book|author=Paul Kimmage|title=Rough Ride|publisher=Yellow Jersey Press|year=1990]

He always struggled with injury and he retired with no wins, disillusioned with drug scandals.

Rough Ride

In May 1990, Kimmage published "Rough Ride", detailing his experiences as a "domestique" which included references to drug use.

Kimmage was vilified within cycling as having "spat in the soup," and within Ireland for having slurred Kelly and Roche. Roche responded with anger and threat of litigation, though Kimmage had never named him or Kelly among those he had seen doping. The book won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in its year of publication.

Kimmage had been a sports journalist with the Sunday Independent in Ireland. He left for the Sunday Times soon after an incident in 2002, when the newspaper misrepresented an article he had written about Roy Keane in the wake of the Saipan saga involving Keane. The editors had taken a quote from Keane out of context to run a headline that implied Keane was planning to leave his wife.

References