Archie Ryan during last year's Vuelta, which be was forced out of due to injury, with his problems not stopping there (Photo: Antonio Baixauli)
While Ireland has never had so many riders in the pro peloton in Europe, most Irish cycling fans will have noticed Archie Ryan has been conspicuous by his absence from the racing scene in recent months.
The reasons for that have been known to many people for quite some time, though the 24-year-old Wicklow rider has not spoken about it before now. He has been badly impacted by injuries which necessitated surgery to both knees.
And though he is now speaking about his issues, he is still on the comeback trail with his training and it will be some time before he races again. Since February, he has been recovering from surgery to remove plica in both knees.
According to the Cleveland Clinic a plica is "a fold in the membrane that protects your knee joint", with most people having four folds in each knee. However, the plica in the middle of the knee can become irritated, causing plica syndrome.
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This results in pain, swelling and instability of the knee and can also involve stiffness and clicking, obviously all very bad news for cyclists.
However, he is aged just 24 years, meaning he has time on his side. He also has a contract with EF Education-EasyPost until the end of next year, which brings stability, and an income, in a time of uncertainty.
Most importantly, he is confident he is making progress and could be racing again in just over two months, having been well supported by his team.
Archie Ryan missed most of his U23 years due to injury, though the pandemic did not help, but he still famously won a stage of the 2023 Tour de l’Avenir, which he started after riding only one one-day race before the event (Photo: Anouk Flesch)
Having had the plica removed, Ryan said he is now very hopeful of moving on from injuries, which have blighted his early career. They caused him to miss most of his U23 seasons, though he still took major results in those brief periods he was able to race.
Last season, he put in a storming ride at Tour of Austria (2.1), with 2nd, 3rd and 4th on stage sand 2nd overall, beaten only by Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
He then went on to ride his first Grand Tour, La Vuelta, and was 4th and 9th on stages, going on the attack frequently. However, a glute injury forced him out after 12 stages.
He did not finish two of the three one-day races he rode in Italy at season end, including Il Lombardia. And, as his injuries then presented after a big block of training at the end of last year and into 2026, he has not yet raced this year.
“This is probably what’s caused all my injuries in the past,” he said of the plica issue. “So that’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully once this is all worked out, I won’t have any more issues and it’s looking that way.
"At the moment, it’s going well, so hopefully I can close that chapter of my life away with knee problems and crack on with the bike.”
Ireland's Ryan winning a stage at Coppi e Bartali in Italy in 2024, on the way to 2nd overall and winning the young rider classification (Photo: Massimo Fulgenzi-Cor Vos)
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He underwent surgery in London and then took in an initial period of recovery in Ireland, before returning to his base in Andorra.
“I went home to Wicklow for three weeks for really intensive physio and to be looked after. The thought of double-crutching in the snow wasn't ideal for me,” he joked.
“I had a nice time at home with friends and family, so that's quite nice. To be ‘normal’ in February is not something us pros usually get to do, so to hang out with my brother and my sisters was quite special.”
He then took to a routine of physiotherapy and gym work, now being mixed with cycling sessions of up to two hours, in his bid to get back to racing.
“It’s just been full gas rehab and a return to the bike, a steady build up since then. I’ve had a couple of niggles but it’s all to do with adapting to scar tissue from the surgery," he said.
"That settles with time and it’s going well. I started pedalling maybe two-and-a-half weeks after, but I wasn't riding properly outside, for an hour, for a month."
In June his aim to get back to his previous training volume and, once that target his hit, racing will start to come into view for him, hopefully in August.
“To ride outside again was quite nice and to ride without issues and to be confident that this is going in the right direction was really reassuring," he said of his progress.
"And it just makes me excited for what’s to come. I can’t wait to pin some numbers on. The team are being great.
“They're just trying to put no pressure on me, so I don't fix my eyes on a date and do too much to be ready, you know? So as soon as I get some solid weeks of proper training underneath me and I'm ready to race, I'm sure I'll get the call up and be ready to go.
"Racing in August is realistic, whether that means a couple of stage races before Worlds and an Italian block in October or the Vuelta and Worlds, the Italian blocks, something like this would be great.
"It is what's getting me out of bed in the morning. To be honest, I'd be keen for anything. I just want to put a number on and get stuck in," he said, adding the support of his team "means everything”.
“Dr Jon Greenwell is an absolute lifesaver, and Matt Rabin has been head of my physio program. They've organised everything from the surgery itself to the whole rehab process and with my physio Mark McCabe in Ireland, to physio in Andorra.
"It's just been full gas and I can't thank them enough. I'm not just saying that. They've been amazing and they're the reason I'm back on a bike and healthy.”
