Twilight of his career

After winning the Giro di Lombardia for a third time in 1991, he started 1992 generally regarded as past his prime. With a change of team to Festina, Kelly prepared for the season's opening classic, Milan-Sanremo. Kelly had one early season stage win in Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana after which he rode in the Tirreno-Adriatico. 

On the final climb of the Milan-Sanremo, the Poggio, race favourite Moreno Argentin attacked from the leading group. After several attacks, he finally broke clear and scaled the climb, reaching the top with some eight seconds advance on the peloton. It seemed that Argentin was well on his way to a solo victory as the peloton descended the Poggio where Maurizio Fondriest led on the descent, marked by Argentin’s teammate Rolf Sorensen. Behind these two in the third position was Kelly. With around three kilometres left of descending Kelly attacked, Sorensen could not hold his acceleration and Kelly got away. Kelly descended very well and caught Argentin under the kilometre kite (one kilometre to go). With the chasing group closing fast, both riders stalled momentarily, Argentin even sat up and gestured to Kelly to take the front but Kelly stayed on Argentin’s wheel. The two moved again, preparing for a sprint; Kelly launched himself and in the final 200 metres came past Argentin to claim his final Classic victory. In 1992, Kelly traveled over to Colombia and competed in the Clasico RCN where he won the second stage.

PDM teammate Martin Earley pushed Kelly into 2nd place in the 1993 Irish National Road Race Championship. 

Kelly’s last year as a professional was 1994 when he rode for the Catavana team. That year, he won a silver medal in the Irish National Cycling Championships behind Martin Earley. Often at the end of the racing season, Kelly would return to Carrick on Suir and would ride the annual Hamper race that used to be held. That year the Hamper race was Kelly’s last race as a professional. Eddy Merckx, Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault, Roger De Vlaeminck, Claude Criquielion, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley, Acacio Da Silva, Paul Kimmage and Phil Liggett were among the 1,200 cyclists who turned up for the event. The President of Ireland at the time, Mary Robinson, attended a civic presentation to Seán the day before the race. Kelly won the race in a sprint against Stephen Roche. Kelly would win this race again 6 years later.

Kelly's career is remarkable in that it spanned the eras of several cycling legends of the Tour de France. In his first year as a professional he rode against aging yet still challenging Eddy Merckx. His first Tour was also the first Tour for Bernard Hinault and the two battled in the sprint of Stage 15. Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon emerged in the early eighties and battled with Kelly in classics as well as in the Tour, and Kelly witnessed the rise of Miguel Indurain and the early career of Lance Armstrong. In addition, Kelly's career coincided with that of his fellow Irishman and occasional rival Stephen Roche as well as the many classics specialists of the eighties and early nineties which included Francesco Moser, Claude Criquielion, Moreno Argentin and Eric Vanderaerden. Evidence of Kelly's dominance can be seen from his three victories in the season-long Super Prestige Pernod International competition (the predecessor to the World Cup). Kelly also competed throughout the entire season, from the season-opener Paris-Nice in early March to season-finale Giro di Lombardia in October, starting and finishing the season by winning both of these events in 1983 and 1985. 

Kelly is also the subject of several books, including his biography Kelly and A man for all seasons by David Walsh.

Post-cycling career

Kelly is still involved in cycling; he is now a commentator for Eurosport on major cycling events and has established and is heavily involved in the Seán Kelly Cycling Academy in Belgium. In 2006 Kelly launched Ireland's first professional cycling team, the Seán Kelly Team, composed of young Irish and Belgian riders based around the Seán Kelly Cycling Academy and managed by Kelly. 

He participates in long-distance charity cycling tours with the "Blazing Saddles", a cycling charity dedicated to raising money for the blind and partially sighted. Such tours have included a journey across America by bike in 2001. 

He also participates in charity cycling endurance events in Scotland (notably with the Braveheart Cycling Fund), England, France and his native Ireland. 

The inaugural Seán Kelly Tour of Waterford was held on the 19 August 2007.  Kelly was one of the 600 participants.

The 2nd Seán Kelly Tour of Waterford was held on the 24 August 2008. Kelly was one of the 2048 participants 

 

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