It was a blockbuster year, with lots of action from start to finish. The best male rider of the year award shortlist features nominees from road and off-road.
The Cycling Ireland Male Rider of the Year 2018 shortlist is packed with riders who have put in quality performances this year at home and abroad.
We've compiled the shortlist here with a reminder of the achievements of each.
There are elite riders and juniors from the road scene and stars of MTB, BMX and Enduro included in this Cycling Ireland shortlist.
You can vote for the rider you think is best by following the instructions at the very end of this piece.
This category of 'Best Male Rider 2018' is different to the International Performance of the Year, which is voted on by the cycling media.
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Photos with thanks to Sean Rowe, Toby Watson and Brendan Slattery.
Best male rider in 2018
Ben Healy - Zappi Racing Team
Ben competed in the junior road race and TT at the World Road Championships during September. He put in an excellent performance in the TT where he finished 13th. He also performed strongly in the road race where he finished as the leading Irish rider; in 25th place on a tough course. Ben has had a successful season overall, becoming national TT champion back in June and also finishing second in the road race at the Nationals.
Conor Dunne - Aqua Blue Sport
Conor won the elite men's road race title at the National Road Championships. Dunne put in an aggressive ride on the day, as he has done many times in the pro peloton in recent years. But in Sligo and July it really paid off when he claimed the gold medal and champion’s jersey. He had been targeting the National Championships for several years and was proud and emotional to finally win the title.
Conor Hennebry - Team Viner Caremark Pactimo
Conor stormed to overall victory in the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan following a strong performance to finish 3rd in the opening stage. Undeterred after losing almost a minute and a half in the second stage, the Tipperary man battled back to win stage three which put him in the yellow jersey which he held until the end of the race. He was also Ireland’s top A1 ranked rider at the end of the year after a string of one-day victories.
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Darnell Moore - Team Caldwell Cycles
Darnell won the elite men’s title at the National Cyclocross Championships in January. Although Moore’s name is more synonymous with the road, he had a phenomenal race at the nationals, showing his strength and versatility. He also won the Irish hill climb title this year and was 2nd to Conor Dunne in the road race at the nationals. That won him the elite race silver medal and U23 gold. Moore also represented Ireland at many U23 races abroad this year on the road.
Darragh O'Mahoney - Nogent sur Oise
Darragh displayed strong form this year with a 3rd place finish in the 138km Grand Prix du Pays d’Aix, followed by a 2nd place in the Grand Prix de Chateaudun one week later. Originally from Cork, the 20 year old has been a regular on the Irish team. His strong performances at the early stages of the season signal that this is just the beginning for Darragh. He was also a regular on the Irish U23 through the season, including making the team for the Worlds and Tour de l’Avenir.
Greg Callaghan - Cube Action Team
Greg is Ireland’s top mountain biker and is a dominant force on the world stage in the Enduro World Series (EWS). Competing in round 2 of the Enduro World Series in April in Colombia he took 5th place. He was 12th in round 4 in Austria-Slovenia, 13th in round 5 in Italy, 10th in round 7 in Spain and 8th in round 8 in Italy. That left him 6th in the world rankings. He also won the national title in 2018.
Matthew Malone - Ratoath BMX Club
Matthew is one of the brightest young talents on the Irish BMX scene and secured a superb top fifteen position in the European Cup in May. He competed in the final rounds of the European Cup in Blegny, Belgium, and raced his way into the semi-finals of the 17-24 age category, his first year racing in this category.
Peter Ryan - Upperchurch Drombane & Seán Hahessy - Team Viner Caremark Pactimo
Peter and Seán were the first tandem to complete the Race Around Ireland, a gruelling 2,150km non-stop cycle around the whole island of Ireland. It took Peter and Sean 122 hours to complete the course and raised an incredible €90,000.
Robin Seymour - Team WORC
Robin had a brilliant performance at the World Masters Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra. He won gold in the XCO Male 45-49 category taking his total number of World Masters titles to three.
You can vote by following this link
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