Sam Bennett may immediately get a chance for victory when his season restarts today in Spain at Vuelta a Burgos.
As well as Bennett, Irish fans will be watching Eddie Dunbar closely to see how his form is after the long lock-down; the young climber in a Team Ineos line-up aiming for overall victory this week.
While the second and fourth stages of the Spanish five-day race are the most obvious chances for sprinters, today's opener can suit Sam Bennett better than the other fast men in the field.
The Deceuninck-QuickStep rider would take the race lead, and his second win of the season, if he could hit the group running on the uphill finish.
The 157km stage from Catedral de Burgos to Mirador del Castillo features a 7.7km climb just before the halfway point followed by a 1km cat 3 ascent just 15km from the finish.
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The finish of the stage is on a 1km climb, at 5 per cent; an incline Bennett will cope with much better than the other sprinters and which looks like a perfect chance for him to get the second part of the season off to a winning start.
Other sprinters in the field include Mark Cavendish, though the Bahrain McLaren man's form is unknown, as well as Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates).
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Gaviria is returning after contracting Covid19 at UAE Tour in February, though the Colombian already has three wins under his belt this year.
Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) is also slated to start in Spain and will be looking for a sprint win while the same can be said for Paris-Nice and Tour Down Under stage winner Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT Pro Cycling).
The likes of George Bennett (Jumbo Visma) and Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) could also threaten at the finish today, depending on how the finale is raced.
Bennett's team has Remco Evenepoel for the overall, with the young Belgian saying he believed today's first stage could suit his Irish team mate.
After today, Bennett should also get a chance on tomorrow's 168km stage 2 into Villadiego, which features no categorised climbs. Friday's stage 4, some 163km to Roa de Duero, has a modest 1km climb just before the finish and should also be a chance for Sam Bennett.
Eddie Dunbar of Team Ineos is the only other Irish man in the race and he is part of a team led by Giro champion Richard Carapaz, who will be aiming for overall victory.
Expect to see Dunbar towards the head of affairs on the 8.9km climb that will bring the riders to the HC summit finish of Thursday's stage 3 to Picón Blanco and the 6.7km HC climb, Alto del Collado, that will bring the race to a close on Saturday's stage 5.
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