Roche and Deignan look lean and ready to go at Giro launch

Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan at the Giro d'Italia team launch in Holland ahead of the opening stage on Friday.

This day two years ago Belfast was buzzing with the Giro d'Italia team launch.

The teams were being presented to massive crowds ahead of three stages in Ireland that kicked off the first Grand Tour of the year.

On that occasion Philip Deignan was the local favourite; the Donegal man from just down the road was clearly taken aback by the huge welcome he got from the crowd.

Nicolas Roche was then part of the Tinkoff team and Dan Martin was with Garmin-Sharp; both also bringing the house down.

And while unlucky Martin would crash out of the race the following day in the team time trial, the race's visit to Ireland was a roaring success.

Its legacy has been continued with the Northern Ireland Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia, the second edition of which takes place from Belfast on Sunday, June 5th.

But this evening all eyes were on Apeldoorn in Holland, which is playing host to the race's start this time around.

And before the 9.8km time trial gets the action underway there tomorrow, the teams were presented to the fans this evening.

Roche and Deignan – now both with Team Sky - weren't the only Irish guys doing their thing this evening, with Irish cycling's Sean Rowe also present to capture the action - as ever - through his lens.

Sean brings us these shots of the two Irish lads from the presentation. And you can see his full set of images by following this link.