third in the final overall general classification. On 19 February 1977, in the first stage of the Tour Méditerranéen, Kelly was denied his first professional victory. Without the benefit of a photo-finish, the judge at the finish line deemed Jan Raas the winner in a sprint finish, with Kelly given second place. Several years later, a photographer who had captured a photo at the finish line that day met Kelly in southern France, showing him the image which provided emphatic evidence that Kelly was the winner of the stage. On 6 March 1977, in a six-man sprint finish, Kelly recorded his first win as a professional, the pro-am Grand Prix de Lugano in Switzerland. Kelly's early impressive displays caught the attention of Guillaume Driessens and the Belgian Flandria squad, resulting in Kelly being promoted and selected to compete with their team at the 1977 Paris–Nice as a domestique for Freddy Maertens. Maertens won the opening prologue and defended his leader's jersey throughout the entire race winning overall. On 19 March 1977, Kelly participated in his first Monument Classic, the Milan–San Remo. On 11 May 1977, competing with the French squad, Kelly won the first stage of the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland and finished tenth overall in the final general classification. On 25 May 1977, Kelly won the French one-day race Circuit de l'Indre, outsprinting Eddy Merckx into second place. In October 1977, Kelly recorded his fourth win of the season, outsprinting Frenchman Serge Périn in the fourth stage of the Étoile des Espoirs. Kelly stayed with de Gribaldy for 1978. In 1978, he started in the Tour de France, in which he also won a stage. Michel Pollentier was disqualified from the 1978 Tour de France after cheating a drugs test on the afternoon that he took the race lead. He left the team at the end of the season and started his own, with a new backer, Splendor. Both Maertens and Pollentier wanted Kelly. Pollentier and Splendor offered Kelly more and made him a team leader. Kelly and Pollentier often shared hotel rooms. But Splendor was new and logistic problems became obvious. The bikes were in poor state – enough that Splendor decided not to ride Paris–Roubaix – and the manager, Robert Lauwers, was replaced. Kelly rose above it and rode for himself. Stage successes By now Kelly had a reputation as a sprinter who could not win