Chairperson: Cillian Kelly

The exploits of Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche may be a distant memory, but cycling has never been more popular. And with the first three stages of the Giro d’Italia taking place in Belfast, Armagh and Dublin this month, Ireland is braced for another outbreak of cycling fever.

Dublin Writers Festival gathers three acclaimed writers (and cycling fanatics) to examine cycling’s phenomenal rise. Why, despite the drug scandals that have threatened to discredit the sport, has cycling become so popular? Where does it go from here? And can anyone tackle the Tour de France?

In 2003 Ned Boulting had only vaguely heard of Lance Armstrong, but when he found himself covering the Tour de France live on television, it was the start of a steep learning curve. Many tours later his books include How I Won the Yellow Jumper and On the Road Bike, a witty and perceptive exploration of Britain’s cycling craze.

A former Commonwealth Games cyclist, Richard Moore is now one of the best-known sports journalists in the UK and the author of numerous books including Slaying the Badger and Sky’s the Limit.

Tim Moore’s book French Revolutions, an account of his attempt to ride the Tour de France, was described by the Sunday Times as “one of the funniest books about sport ever written”. His new book, Gironimo, finds him tackling the route of the 1914 Giro d’Italia on a wooden bike.