Who are the established men and the young riders out to make a name for themselves who can do damage at next week's An Post Rás?
The An Post Rás gets underway on Sunday from Dublin Castle and over eight stages it covers some 1,200 kilometres.
Once again, Ireland has a strong contingent of county riders ready to do battle and for the first time in a number of years, a national team will also be on the start line.
Hopes are high of a result on a stage, possibly a victory, from an Irish rider.
And it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that an Irishman can challenge overall. We've profiled the men we think can be right in the mix next week.
Christopher McGlinchey (Irish National Team)
If this man can replicate the form he showed at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan over the East Bank Holiday he has every reason to be confident of a result next week. (Photo: David McVeigh - The Belgian Project)
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He showed he could sprint when he won the opening stage into Killorglin and demonstrated maturity and class with the way he rode over the next three days.
In fact, his ride on Saturday was simply awesome; getting into the break, getting dropped by the combined strength of Ali Macaulay and Bryan McCrystal before clawing a seemingly impossible deficit back on the run-in to Kenmare.
The way he rode into Waterville to defend the jersey on the Sunday – with some of the country’s best riders clinging to his back wheel for dear life - was the work of a man who has a bright future. That future starts next week.
Marc Potts (Neon Velo)
Riding the race with his UK team Neon Velo, Potts comes into this Rás apparently in the form of his life, having won the Shay Elliott Classic in Co Wicklow last Sunday. (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Bray Wheelers)
He got clear in the early breakaway and proved really strong all the way to the finish line.
Potts appears to have take a huge amount from his involvement with the Irish track set-up in the last year or so and next week really could be a great opportunity for him; a powerful rider moving into his prime.
Daire Feeley (iTap)
The iTap man has won a lot of races already in his career and while a big win has eluded him so far in the 2016 campaign it is most likely only around the corner. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He has got a lot of experience under his belt and has won national U23 selection for the first time as well as ridden with iTap in the UK this season.
A major result this time around is perhaps asking too much. But Feeley can do well during this Rás and getting into the breakaways.
This is a man for the next few years - a great winner of races. But he's a great competitor and you will definitely be seeing his name in the race reports and live updates.
Eddie Dunbar (Irish National team)
Dunbar is now into the big league of professional racing and has dipped his toes into it a few times already this year with some eye-catching rides.
His season looked to be leading towards the Tour of California but after suffering a broken collar bone in a crash while out training last month his programme changed and perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise.
He loves racing on home roads and with a hilly route for the Rás he can definitely get up the road and maybe challenge for the U23 jersey.
The racer’s instinct in him is perfectly aligned with the type of race the Rás is and though he’ll be one of the youngest in the field, he’ll also be one of the most-watched.
If the breaks go early and stay away, anything can happen for Dunbar. But he is still very, very young so lets not expect too much.
Eoin Morton (UCD-Fitzcycles.ie)
One of a clutch of really strong all-rounders based at home, Morton took a career-best win last month at the Visit Nenagh Classic while he was also victorious in February at the Phoenix GP. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
The Swords man is riding the An Post Rás for the fourth time and has every reason to feel confident about delivering his best performance over eight days.
He’s a good man to sniff out the winning breakaway and that means everything in this race.
Morton, like many of the guys who have grown so much together at UCD over the last four or five years, gets better every year.
A county prize on a stage would be a really welcome result for him and we feel it is well within his grasp, as is bagging a top 10 on a stage.
Ian Richardson (UCD-Fitzcycles.ie)
The star of the show last year, Richardson finished 10th on general classification and told stickybottle recently that he’ll be looking to emulate that, or go even better. (Photo: Stephen McMahon)
That’s a bold statement but a mark of the confidence he has in himself.
However, after a win in Stamullen and another at the Tour of Ulster recently, who could bet against him delivering the goods again?
This year's route is lumpier but Richardson is simply a better rider now. He seems stronger than he was before, is winning races and really bossing the action.
He is our outside bet for a stage win by a county man on this race; we feel he has the goods if the stars aligned for him.
Sean McKenna (Aquablue)
He might be slightly under the radar this year compared to last but winning 10 races by the May Bank Holiday in 2015 was always going to be hard to repeat. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Still, McKennna has been there or thereabouts and having raced in the green of Ireland this year he should be better this week for that experience and level of racing in his legs.
He's had college exams to contend with this year but let's see how he goes this week. Will he be on the podium at some stage in the coming week? Almost certainly.
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Bryan McCrystal
Unlike previous year's, McCrystal goes into the week ahead not having aimed specifically for this race as he has triathlon goals this year. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
However, having won a stage at Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and also taken the national duathlon title recently, he should come into his own later in the week.
He's been a man who has seen the front of the race plenty of times and has been in the breakaways. You can expect the same this time around.
Jack Wilson
The former junior and U23 national champion has yet to really shine in his home tour as he has been restricted by team duties.
However, the team has great belief in him and with some strong and aggressive riding of late Wilson could surprise a few people.
He has consistently raced at this level for years and if he were to get into the right breakaway and get a little bit of luck that anyone who wins usually benefits from, who knows what might happen.
He's a rider with a huge amount of experience and class and if he gets in a few breakaways and believes he can do it he might do something very special.
Sean Lacey (Aquablue)
The Kerry man is one of the most experienced Rás men in the field and is a regular visitor to the podium, be it for team prizes or county rider prizes, which he took last year. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
A stage win has eluded him but to his eternal credit, it doesn’t stop him from coming back year after year with new strategies and ideas for how to out-fox those in his company.
He looks in superb shape this year and has rarely been outside the top 10 in any race.
A little luck, the right composition and Lacey can push for the big one. He has the brain and he has the class but he needs what every ride does to excel; the rub of the green when he's on a great day.
Damien Shaw (An Post Chainreaction)
The national road race champion has been so close on so many occasions but just lacked that final race-winning kick. Twelve months ago, he finished on the podium on each of the last three days. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He’ll lead the An Post Chainreaction team’s assault on the yellow jersey but is only too aware of how unpredictable the race is.
To that end, he’ll just try and get up the road early and often and see what way the cards fall for him.
If he can escape with a teammate, and come to the line in a small group, he has every chance of landing that elusive win.
Philip Lavery (ASEA-Wheelworx)
We can’t wait to see what kind of form this man is in and knowing Lavery he will have been training for this and looking to prove himself. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He can be brilliant on his day but we don’t see him often enough to make an accurate assessment of where he’s at right now.
He has ferocious power for a small guy, can sprint very well and is ultra-aggressive; a very useful list of attributes for the Rás.
Richard Maes (Killarney CC)
A surprise inclusion here perhaps but three things the Killarney CC man has that more would love to have in a race like the An Post Rás are a) the ability to ride a big bunch, b) know-how in the crosswinds and c) a very decent sprint. (Photo: John Coleman - DC Images)
If he’s in the group coming to the line, Maes won’t have any fear about getting to the front and maybe picking up a county rider prize.
Conor Dunne (JLT-Condor Cycles)
The big JLT-Condor Cycles man is even harder to ignore now that he looks to be in the shape of his life.
Winning the Rutland-Melton International last month catapulted Dunne onto another level and it’s fair to say that if he continues to improve, he must be seen as the next Irish rider to step up from the continental ranks.
The long, hard stages of the Rás are perfect for a man with an engine like his and if he can jump away from a front group like he did three years ago, he can do it again this year.
Mark Dowling (ASEA-Wheelworx)
Dowling has yearned for a big UCI win for years but his chances are pretty much restricted to the Rás. (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He was somewhat harshly overlooked for selection for the Irish team for the Philadelphia Classic after the Rás, given the latter's hilly nature, but anything can happen in a few weeks.
The route is up and down all week but what Dowling really needs is a hard, hard finish.
You can chalk it down he’s been looking at the stages around Cork and Kerry.
Simon Ryan (Mego RAW Cycles Racing team)
His county ride prize last year was a truly terrific performance and thoroughly-deserved. (Photo: Maura Lynch Moriarty)
On the hardest stage when less than 20 came to the line in Ballina after a wind and rain-lashed stage, Ryan was there clinging for dear life. But he was there.
he has been a little under the radar this year but usually comes alive for the Rás. He has a lovely kick that has gotten him across those 30-second gaps.
He doesn't enjoy the hilly stuff so much, but on the flatter, rolly terrain he can go well.
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