Billy Kerr competed in the men’s road race at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, finishing 41st – 17 minutes behind the winner and the highest-placed of the three Irish cyclists who completed the race.

Kerr won the 1980 Rás Tailteann, making him one of the oldest winners of the race at 35 and the first rider from Northern Ireland and from the NICF to win it – a landmark in the history of Irish cycling that reflected the tripartite agreement between the NCA, ICF and NICF that had come into force in 1979.

He was involved in a crash during the race but rode hard to regain contact with the main bunch. The Moscow acclimatisation period proved difficult for all the Irish cyclists, who were demoralised by conditions of extreme heat, poor food and security restrictions on training spins.