Martin Earley became the first Irish cyclist to win a stage at each of cycling’s three Grand Tours – the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España – and made his Olympic debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, finishing 19th in the road race, the first top-20 finish for Ireland in Olympic road cycling.

He travelled to Los Angeles having already secured a professional contract with the Spanish team Fagor – a recognition of his quality that was confirmed in the Olympic race itself.

He and Paul Kimmage rode fine races in the gruelling 196km Mission Viejo circuit; Kimmage suffered a mechanical failure at the moment he joined the lead group, but Earley rode on strongly to 19th.

His performance was supported by the team’s comprehensive nutrition strategy devised by Dr Moira O’Brien, which included approximately seven litres of fluid during the race itself.

After LA he went on to race for teams across Europe, winning Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta stages across his professional career before later competing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.