For years, Ireland's best chance of medals at the UCI World Road Championships rested with Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. Kelly took bronze in Goodwood in 1982 and in Chambéry in 1989. Roche won bronze in Altenrhein in 1983 and gold in Villach in glorious 1987. Mark Scanlon then popped up with gold in the junior race in Valkenburg in 1988.
But it's always been the same for Ireland; a freak rider came along every now again - two at the same time in the Kelly-Roche era - and brought home the silverware. But it was rare. Unlike some other nations, we've never really had genuine chances in several events at a road Worlds.
However, all that has changed now. Yes, we are in an era when the domestic scene is going through some tough twists and turns and things may get worse before they get better. Fewer riders are racing, more and more events are being called off or lost for good. Yet there has never been as much strength in depth in the international road racing group.
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We'd hate to put undue pressure on this group, especially on the shoulders of the young guns. But if you are going to analyse this properly you can't skirt around it. Our talent is now world class.
We - starting with the riders themselves - are aiming for medals. And coming back from Zurich without more medals - after our first gold on Sunday - would be a disappointment. That's not trying to apply pressure, it's simply a reflection of the Irish talent in Switzerland this week.
Of course Katie George Dunlevy - with her pilot Linda Kelly - has already won the first medal for Ireland at these Worlds; the paracycling Tandem B TT. That gold and rainbow bands follows their win in the event last year and also at the Paralympics in Paris earlier this year.
It was the best possible start for this group and barring incident, or an unlikely implosion, they should be back on the road race podium on Wednesday.
Let's take it day-by-day for the week head - starting with today, Monday - and rate the chances.
Monday, Sept 23rd
Seth Dundwoody (Cannibal B Victorious) and Conor Murphy (U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant) are off in the 24.9km early on Monday.
Dunwoody is a world class junior and though the international TTs he has performed best in, including winning, have tended to be of the very short variety, he could do a very good ride on Monday morning.
It will be very hard to take a medal, but he could do it. It's a pan flat course and that will suit him as he is a powerful sprinter who can also TT.
Murphy is a first-year junior and has smashed the Irish junior 10 mile TT record this year. This distance may really suit him and his win in Eroica Juniores-Coppa Andrea Meneghelli (1.1) back in May and medaling in the TT at the European Youth Olympics confirm he is an international talent. It will be very interesting to see what he can do.
On Monday afternoon brothers Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) and Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) are in action in the U23 TT, over a more undulating 29.9km course. That lumpier terrain will suit both.
Darren Rafferty has just completed the Vuelta and if he has recovered he is a real medal chance for Ireland, though the field is stacked. There is no shortage of World Tour riders in there and nine of the top 10 from the TT in the Europeans last week are in the field.
A medal won't be easy, but Rafferty is in that class. He was 5th last year in the U23 TT at the Worlds and given the season he has had this year, at a much higher level, he is definitely a big medal contender for Ireland.
For Adam Rafferty, who has been combining school with his racing, this is a big day; a first Worlds in the U23 ranks in his first season out of the juniors. He can go out, ride flat out and soak up all the learning he can, while chasing the very best result possible.
Tuesday, Sept 24th
On Tuesday, the junior women's TT - some 18.8km over a very flat course - sees Aliyah Rafferty and Lucy Bénézet Minns in action for Ireland. Both are really exciting prospects and have excelled at road, track and cyclocross.
Bénézet Minns was 4th in the junior women's TT at the Worlds last year and, having won gold at the European Track Championships for Ireland already this year, she is a big prospect for a medal in Zurich on Tuesday.
The one slight downside is that the course is flat and Bénézet Minns would like some climbs, which also often exclude some of the bigger and more powerful riders who can really get the watts out on the flat. However, the absence of any climbs on the course won't phase her.
Rafferty is also a great prospect for Ireland and as a first-year junior, this season is all about getting the biggest experiences possible in the bag and then cracking on next year. But she can also impress at these Worlds in both the TT and road race.
Wednesday, Sept 25th
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Having already opened Ireland's account with TT gold at these Worlds on Sunday, Katie George Dunlevy, and pilot Linda Kelly, will be back in action in the road race, over 84.7km.
They will be looking to get one over Great Britain, who beat them to gold in the road race at the Paralympics, and are the best bet possible bet for Ireland for another medal.
Josephine Healion, and pilot Eve McCrystal, will also be in action in the same road race for Ireland and having taken 4th in Sunday's TT, they should also be in contention. It is far from impossible Ireland would take two medals from this race, which would be incredible.
Thursday, Sept 26th
Aliyah Rafferty, Aine Doherty and Lucy Bénézet Minns line out in the 74.8km junior women's road race in the morning. While there are only two climbs, they are definitely long enough to split the field and should favour the Irish.
Bénézet Minns should be in contention for a medal and she will be backed by two very strong riders in Doherty and Rafferty. This is a very strong team and while it will be hard to win a medal, the Irish team will count themselves in.
In the afternoon the junior men's road race, over 128.4km, includes an Irish team comprised of Patrick Casey, Seth Dunwoody, Cal Tutty and David Gaffney.
There is 2,000 metres of climbing and that may split the field significantly. However, depending on how the race pans out, Casey or Dunwoody are our medal contenders and have two excellent riders in Tutty and Gaffney to support them.
If the field stays together a little and even a much reduced bunch goes into the final, Ireland will look to Dunwoody's sprint. If it splits more than that, Casey may be the man the team will look to.
Again - and you could say it about every race this week - winning a medal here will very, very hard. But Casey and Dunwoody are world class junior riders and anything can happen.
Friday, Sept 27th
The 174.8km U23 men's road race will involve an Irish team comprised of Dean Harvey, Jamie Meehan, Darren Rafferty, Liam O'Brien and Adam Rafferty. Again, one really promising feature of this team is the strength in depth. And like the junior men's group, there are other riders not on the team who would have been very close to selection.
Given the standard he is racing at, Darren Rafferty is the clear leader of this team and he is also a medal contender. Like any Worlds road race, Rafferty will need the rub of the green if he gets into a final in a potentially race-winning position.
But he is in that group of riders in the race who will be counted among the possible winners of the rainbow bands. And the 2,400 metres of climbing on this circuit will suit him; the harder the better for Rafferty.
Saturday, Sept 28th
The women's road race is 154km and takes in 2,200m of climbing. The Irish team is comprised of sisters Aoife and Caoimhe O'Brien and national elite road race champion Fiona Mangan.
Megan Armitage, Ireland's pick for the Olympics this year and the only Irish woman to ever win a UCI-ranked stage race, was selected but decided to end her season early. Though there was no point continuing to race if she felt she needed to pull the plug for 2024, her withdrawal was a blow for this team.
However, Mangan has ridden well in UCI-ranked road races in Europe of late and the O'Briens were competing on the kermesse circuit in Belgium until recently, with Caoimhe taking multiple wins.
It will be very hard for the Irish to make an impact against the very best riders in the world, but they can still get the best out of themselves and see where that takes them.
Sunday, Sept 29th
Ben Healy, Eddie Dunbar, Conn McDunphy and Archie Ryan are Ireland's team for the men's road race on Sunday; some 273.9km with 4,500 metres of climbing. This will be savage race, with most of the best riders in the world - many of them backed by hugely experienced large teams, out for glory.
Healy put in a fantastic ride at the Olympics, opting to go early rather than wait for the big attacks and taking 10th place. He will look to do the same again on Sunday, but maybe wait a little longer to make a move if he can.
Though Dunbar has made his name in stage races, this course is so hilly, and he is in such good form after his two Vuelta stage wins, you wouldn't put anything past him.
Based on one-day race results so far, Healy looks the more likely ride to take a result for the team, but you just never know. Ryan has a very good record in one-day races, mostly at U23 level, and this course will suit him down to the ground.
