A speed ramp where a fatal crash occurred during one of Ireland’s largest cycling events was in poor condition with its markings “badly worn,” an inquest has heard.
Leading solicitor Patrick Kelly sustained severe brain and facial injuries after he came off his bicycle while going over the ramp on the outskirts of Ashford during the Wicklow 200 cycle challenge on June 12, 2022.
The married father of two (62), from Newforge Lane in Belfast, died from his injuries three days later in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Kelly was participating in the shorter 100km version of the 200km route around Wicklow with his friend, Peter Swan, in good weather conditions.
Around 3,000 cyclists take part each year in the event.
In a written statement, Mr Swan said he and Mr Kelly were about 30 kilometres from the finish line and travelling at a speed of 25-30 miles per hour (40-48km/h) when the accident occurred at around 10.15am.
Mr Swan said it seemed that his friend lost control of his bike as he went over the speed ramp.
A forensic collision investigator, Garda James Reynolds, said the road surface at the location of the crash between Glenealy and Ashford was cracked and uneven, while the markings on the speed ramp were “badly worn.”
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Garda Reynolds said the first thing that struck him on visiting the scene was the condition of the road and the speed ramp.
“In plain English, it was not in good nick,” he remarked.
Garda Reynolds said a road sign alerting road users to the speed ramp was partially covered by vegetation, while it also contained another warning about a “community alert area.”
He also observed that there were no additional signs put in place to alert cyclists to the speed ramp which he said he would have noticed previously at similar other cycling events.
Garda Reynolds said he had visited the location again in June this year and the road appeared to still be in the same condition.
The inquest heard that an analysis of a GPS tracker on the deceased’s bike showed he had been travelling at around 35km/h at the time of the collision.
Garda Reynolds said the device showed Mr Kelly had suddenly slowed down significantly which indicated that “something had gone wrong.”
He said the cyclist had slid about 18 metres along the road after coming off his bike.
The organiser of the Wicklow 200, Oliver Kirwan, said the organisers of the annual event had never experienced such an incident before.
He said the organisers carried out a risk assessment of the proposed route months in advance to make it both “challenging and as safe as possible.”
He told the coroner that there were inherent risks in cycling on Irish roads.
He said there were eight speed ramps in total on the route for the Wicklow 200 in 2022.
Mr Kirwan said it would not be possible to devise a route that completely avoided speed ramps.
He acknowledged that speed ramps were not identified as a specific risk in information provided to participants in the event.
An advance paramedic who attended the injured cyclist, Paul Knoesen, said Mr Kelly was bleeding significantly and it was clear that he had sustained a significant head injury.
Garda Kieran Kennedy, a public service vehicle inspector, said he had found no defect with the sports bike used by Mr Kelly.
The inquest heard that the cyclist was wearing footwear that would have clipped into the bike’s pedals which might have prevented him reacting quickly enough to put his feet on the ground to break his fall.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that he died from severe, acute traumatic head injuries consistent with a fall from a bicycle.
The deceased’s wife, Doreen Kelly, who formally identified her husband’s body, said he was very fit and well prior to his death.
In reply to questions from the coroner, Ms Kelly said she had no concerns about her husband’s health at the time and his participation in the Wicklow 200.
Mr Kelly, who was a founding partner of Belfast legal firm, McConnell, Kelly Solicitors over 30 years ago, had retired from practising law just a short time before his death.
His son, Rory Kelly, expressed a wish that improved markings would be used in future to alert cyclists to speed ramps.
A jury of four men and two women returned a verdict of accidental death but made no recommendations.