Irish supporters start a tradition - and take over a corner of the Tour de France

On the day that a clampdown on rulle-breaking cyclists is announced, there's another type of Irish cycling story with a more cheerful tune.

On the day that a clampdown on rule-breaking cyclists is announced, there's another type of Irish cycling story with a more cheerful tune.

Today, on the Tour de France, Irish cyclists Dan Martin and Nicholas Roche will be competing in Stage 18 on the slopes of Alpe-d'Huez - and they'll pass a crowd of dedicated Irish supporters at turn 10.

The Irish corner, as it's being called, is the brainchild of some die-hard Irish cycling fans who wanted a place to centralise the Irish support and really make an impact. It's inspired by a similar "Dutch corner" which has been going for years.

They've bedecked the area in green, white and gold, and were up in the small hours painting (or chalking, we'd imagine) the road with good-luck messages the cyclists can't fail to see. All this after making the journey to lay claim to the corner and arranging the influx of Irish fans.

"The idea came from the Euros last year and looking at what the Irish football fans did and it’d be great if we could get something similar going," one of the organisers Stephen O'Shea told cycling site StickyBottle.com.

"So the road will be covered in green and gold paint and we’d say bring as many flags, hammers, Italia ’90 jerseys will be popular, whatever."

And it's not like this won't go unnoticed by the two Irish athletes, taking part either: they've been grateful for the support all along.

@IrishCorner10 check http://t.co/LxC8npQ7c5 for update on one of the coolest idea in year!!

— nicholas roche (@nicholasroche) July 14, 2013

Hope this rain isn't dampening the atmosphere on the alpe. Will be quite anxious when I get to corner 11 2moro. @IrishCorner10 #hopeitsdry

— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) July 17, 2013

Fair play, gentlemen.

Photos from Irish Corner 10 on Facebook.