Ryan Mullen drives the breakaway in Portugal; he was just one of a hatful of reasons why Irish cycling has had a great few days.
7 reasons for Irish cycling to be cheerful
1. Ireland had an amazing World Cup
The Irish track team travel home from Colombia with slightly heavier luggage than they left with; four medals to be precise.
It made it Ireland’s most successful UCI World Cup ever, with the haul from Cali including a gold, two silvers and a bronze.
Mark Downey, above, took points race gold – his second in just a few months – and then went on with Madison partner Felix English to win silver in that event.
And the brilliant Lydia Gurley took a dazzling bronze in her scratch race. All of them paid tribute to Cycling Ireland coach David Muntaner.
The Spaniard and former world Madison champion seems to have developed a great rapport with the riders, won their confidence and given them excellent advice.
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It all seems like a recipe for more success; fingers crossed.
2. Ryan Mullen flexing his muscles
Ultimately it was a frustrating few days for Ryan Mullen, beginning with his enduring a mechanical mishap in the first kilometre of the stage 3 TT at the Volta ao Algarve.
He would still finish 14th and just 35 seconds off victory in the 18km test.
It is always hard to know precisely how much a stop like that impacts a rider but it may have cost him up to 30 seconds, which would have put him on the podium but for his chain coming off.
Mullen is a class act, of course; his silver in the U23 TT at the World Championships two years ago and 5th in the elite Worlds TT last year underlining his ability.
But TT riding in stage races, away from those specialist events like a Worlds you can prepare for months for, is different.
And we have never seen him show this kind of potentially stage-winning form in such a major event before.
He then followed it up the next day with 195km in a breakaway that was caught with just 2km to go.
Sometimes in cycling riders can show great potential and hit a brick wall in their early 20s.
But last weekend says Mullen is progressing at a great rate and a really big result isn’t too far away.
3. The domestic road season started (less busily)
Yes, after months of waiting the flag was dropped and riders fought it out at the Annaclone GP and Phoenix GP; won by Mark Dowling, above in David McVeigh's photo, and Chris McGlinchey respectively.
While we’re always delighted to see the start of the season, one event was important for its absence; the Traders Cup in Dundalk.
Having been a longterm fixture on the opening weekend of hostilities, promoting club Cuchulainn CC decided to follow Cycling Ireland’s wishes and move it to September.
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Moving races around will always be controversial but more of this is required if some badly needed balance is to be brought to the domestic road calendar.
4. Aqua Blue Sport in the classics
Yep, the team out of Cork via the south of France has only gone and landed itself wildcard invites to both Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Fleche Wallonne.
The ProContinental team – which features Irish riders Matt Brammeier, Conor Dunne and Martyn Irvine – has clearly caught the eye of pro cycling with some aggressive riding in the first weeks of its debut season.
And its reward is an invite to two of the biggest one-day races in the world.
That's not half bad for a first month’s work and no doubt just the start for the men in blue.
5. Dan Martin’s killer instinct
He’ll be aiming for the Ardennes Classics again and the Tour de France is also uppermost in his mind this year after his top 10 ride there last year.
But Dan Martin is a real winner when on song and will pounce at any time.
He showed that once again with a summit stage win on stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve last week.
There’s nothing better to watch than an aggressive Martin in form and freely expressing himself on a mountain finish.
And we look forward to more of the same in the months ahead.
6. The Sally Gap decision
Off-road riders, like everyone who enjoys the great outdoors, let out a collective sigh of relief last week when a judge decided to overturn a €40,000 award made to a hill walker who fell and injured herself on the Wicklow Way.
Had the award been upheld, it could have severely affected access to lands as landowners concerned they would be liable for minor accidents would seek to keep people way.
It was also felt any agencies of the State or voluntary organisations seeking to make changes to lands or trails could be held liable for minor accidents.
7. An A4's career takes off in style
Last but by no means least, we reserve a special word for this man; Shane Smith of Moynalty.
He won the A4 event at the Annaclone GP in a manner that gives hope to all of us who ever planned a triumphant comeback or racing debut.
The 24-year old was competing in his first ever race as an adult and with “very basic tactical knowledge” he did the thing that felt most natural to him; ride hard.
He took off out of the bunch and was not seen again before the finish in the Banbridge CC-promoted event, winning in the end with minutes to spare.
Mr Smith, we salute you!
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