Stickybottle's 15 best things that happened to Irish cycling in 2014

With the numbers cycling higher than ever across Ireland this year, the sport had some amazing moments in 2014.

We took some quantum leaps forward as a code and also witnessed some of our very best riders pull off fantastic rides at home and abroad.

We've picked out the 15 best things in Irish cycling this year.

Have a read and see if you agree with us and please feel free to leave your comments in the section at the end of the piece.

Stickybottle's 15 best things that happened in Irish cycling during 2014

1 The Giro d’Italia’s trip to Ireland

Visiting Irish shores for the Grande Partenza, the Giro d'Italia was welcomed with open arms in May. Not only did the cycling community turn out in droves, but the general public took the race to their hearts. It rained and Irish star Dan Martin crashed out, but it was still phenomenal. Not since the days of the Nissan International Classic has big time pro racing electrified Ireland in this way. (Photo: Sirotti)

2 Dan Martin’s Giro di Lombardia win

Having hit the deck hard on the Giro's opening stage in May, Martin was forced onto the sidelines for the longest time. However, he enjoyed a storming close of season that took him to 9th in the world by the end of the year. The biggest result was his victory in Lombardia in October. His making the key selection up the final climb was not surprising given his class. But his willingness to attack inside the last kilometre - to put it all on the line in one moment, and having the legs to do so - once again put him in the bracket of Kelly and Roche. It also underlined his standing as one of the best and bravest riders in the world. One hopes he begins to get the credit he deserves from the mainstream media in Ireland which has been sadly lacking in Martin's career to date. (Photo: Sirotti)

3 Dan Martin’s 7th place in the Vuelta

Unlike the 2011 Vuelta and 2013 Tour de France, there was to be no stage win the Vuelta a Espana this year for Dan Martin. But with Alberto Contador and Chris Froome crashing out of the Tour in July, the Vuelta was to become the race of second chances and was the Grand Tour of the year. Against such tough competition, and despite his long layoff due to injury, Martin put together his best ever general classification ride in a three week race. His 7th overall was perhaps not his most spectacular result, but was the strongest indication yet he can make a podium in a Grand Tour in the next few years.

4 Martyn Irvine’s silver medal at the World Track Championships

When he won a silver medal in the individual pursuit and followed it up with scratch race gold at the World Championships in Minsk last year, nobody would have been surprised to hear Irvine would be in the medals again 12 months later. But factor into the equation a broken hip at the Tour of Taiwan that cost him his entire road season last year and a bad smash at the Ghent Six Day in the closing weeks of 2013 and Irvine's bouncing back to pull a medal out of this year's Worlds in Colombia in February was remarkable. It said as much about his fighting spirit and unwillingness to read a script as it did about his ability as a track rider. (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)

5 Ryan Mullen’s silver in the U23 World TT Championships

But for Australian Campbell Flakemore having his limit man in his sights to spur him on up the finish straight in Spain in September, Ryan Mullen would surely be U23 World Time Trial Champion now. In the end, Mullen was forced to settle for silver by a margin of just half a second. He remains with An Post-Chainreaction for the coming season and so will contest the U23 test at the Worlds again next year. There is nothing quite like seeing the green of Ireland on this stage, and to see Mullen fly the flag so well for the country was a huge moment in itself. When one considers what it may symbolise for the future, it was undoubtedly one of the very biggest moments for Irish cycling in recent years, let alone 2014. (Photo: Sean Rowe)

6 Long awaited Irish velodrome moving to planning stages

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride; Irish cycling finally got a ring on its finger in March when the Government approved the €8-€9 million purpose velodrome on the Abbotstown sports campus in west Dublin. Funding was also assigned to bring the project to the planning stages. Much work still needs to be done and the track is not over the line yet. Considerable lobbying, not to mention fundraising, will still need to be done by Cycling Ireland. We will only know in hindsight if the March announcement was the breakthrough it looked like at the time. But it certainly seemed like the most concrete step towards realising the big dream.

7 Nicolas Roche's first stage race win

A knee injury kept Nicolas Roche off the bike just before the season began and saw the Irishman struggle in the early months in the colours of Tinkoff-Saxo. And while a crash would ruin his chances of a tilt at the Giro d'Italia general classification, he would have his moment in the following month of June. He took a fantastic lone win on stage 2 of the Route du Sud. He was the clear victor atop the tough Val Louron on the stage that also took the riders over the mammoth Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin. And despite world No 1 Alejandro Valverde breathing down his neck in second place going into the final stage, Roche took a comfortable overall win; his first ever stage race victory and a very popular one with Irish fans.

8 Philip Deignan back where he belongs

9 Sam Bennett's first win at ProContinental level

Far from one of the giant races on the pro scene, the Clásica de Almeria in Spain in March was hugely significant in an Irish context when Sam Bennett romped to victory. In his first months with NetApp-Endura at ProContinental level since his switch from the Continental-ranked An Post-Chainreaction, Bennett got into the winning breakaway. In true hunter's instinct, he didn't need an invitation when he got a sniff of the whitewash and romped in for a clear sprint win despite the presence of several Movistar team mates in the move. It was confirmation, if it were needed, of what the young gun from Carrick is capable of.

10 Ryan Mullen’s domination of National Road Championships

The breakaway moved clear very early at the National Road Race Championships in Westmeath in June. But the presence of three An Post-Chainreaction riders - Mullen, Sean Downey and Jack Wilson - along with some other big engines meant the rest of the field was on the back foot immediately. On the penultimate lap, with hours of hard racing already in the legs, the jumping inevitably started up front. Mullen eventually pulled clear alone and put his head down on the last lap to take what can only be described as a crushing win. He sailed up the finishing straight, one hand aloft in triumph in the height of the Irish summer. He had come of age. Rarely has Ireland had such a young champion so full of promise. (Photo: George Doyle)

11 The young guns' medal haul

It's a mark of the kind of year Irish cycling has had that the achievements of so many young riders are all condensed into one heading. But in Eoin Mullen, Josie Knight (above) and Mark Downey, Irish cycling took home three fantastic medals from the European Championships this year. Mullen took the bronze in the U23 sprint, Knight a silver in the junior pursuit and Downey another silver, this time in the junior points race. One wonders what lies ahead if the national velodrome finally becomes a reality. (Photo: Sirotti)

12 Michael O'Loughlin's World Championships ride

Still with another season remaining at junior level, Michael O'Loughlin put in arguably the ride of the year for an Irish junior on the international stage when he stormed to 8th place in the time trial at the World Championships in Spain in September. His performance suggested that a very strong domestic career to date - albeit in the youth and junior ranks - may combine with his talent to bring big things sooner rather than later. (Photo: Sean Rowe)

13 Cycling community’s reaction to save Junior Tour of Ireland

When news broke on stickybottle that the Junior Tour of Ireland was in financial trouble, the result was as refreshing as it was instant. Members of the cycling community rallied to its aid with donations to a new trust fund and by organising a series of sportives that have ensured this great race is here to stay. In a word; superb. (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)

14 An Post Chainreaction registering as Irish again

Traditionally 'a little on the Belgian side', the An Post-Chainreaction team became Irish again for 2014 and beefed up the number of Irish internationals in its ranks. In its roster at the start of the year it counted Conor Dunne (above), Sean Downey, Marcus Christie, Ryan Mullen and Jack Wilson. In truth, the team will only ever be an avenue for a tiny number of Irish riders. And there are plenty of other routes cyclists from this country can take into the pro ranks. But Sean Kelly's team registering in the home country was nonetheless great to see. Long may it continue.

15 Eddie Dunbar's Junior Tour of Wales win

The victor on stage 2 of the Junior Tour of Wales in August, Eddie Dunbar would also win the final leg on his own in the rain up Tumble Mountain to take the race overall by more than five minutes. Nobody who has watched the teenager's progress at home and abroad in recent seasons would have been hugely surprised that he lifted the final yellow jersey. However, it was the manner of his performance and the fact it cemented a truly stunning junior career that made it so memorable. Ireland has rarely had a young rider who could go across to Britain and dominate in the way Dunbar did in Wales. He advances in the Continental ranks with UK-based team NFTO for 2015, when he will undoubtedly continue to take the major steps forward that have characterised his career to date. This was just one in a series of remarkable performances by a young rider who looks to have something very special indeed. (Photo: Toby Watson)