Having represented Ireland to World Road Championships level as a junior, Conal Scully is now starting his third year as an U23 and told stickybottle he felt like he was coming into his own.
And he suspects other riders around his own age - the Carlow man having just turned 21 years - are beginning to properly take their places among the top tier on the home scene, having been bubbling away from a few seasons in senior races.
Scully raced with European teams over the last two seasons - Isorex Cycling Team in Belgium in 2023 and NIPPO-EF-Martigues in France last year. However, this season he is racing with domestic outfit Dan Morrissey Pissei and is also studying law at South East Technological University in his native Carlow, having secured a sports scholarship.
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He seems very happy with his choice and the form is clearly coming, as evidenced by his ride at Rás Mhaigh Eo last weekend - 2nd in the TT and 5th overall - and his strong win at the Bobby Power Memorial on St Patrick's Day in Carrick.
"A lot of people came up to me at the end and there was a feeling of 'at last I'd put my name on one of those big A1 trophies,'" he said of seeing off Ruairí Byrne (UCD Cycling Club), Paul Kennedy (Team Skyline) and junior Matthew Walls (Lucan CRC) in the breakaway group in Carrick.
"I've been knocking on the door, but I think this year I've made a big step. As well as that, I'm 21 now and the strength is coming on big time. I think you can kind of see that with a few of us this year; myself Ruairí Byrne, Patrick O'Loughlin and a few others…. we're kind of starting to come into our own at the moment."
Though he rode very well in Mayo last weekend - in the top seven on all three stages and running GC winner Conn McDunphy (Team Skyline) closest in the stage 2 TT - it is clear the win in Carrick has been the stand-out moment for Scully this year.
He said Team Skyline were "incredibly" strong in Co Mayo, though a mechanical on stage 1, as the race was splitting, did not help his cause. "With the handicap there wasn't a minute to breath, it was just constant attacks."
Being such a talented junior, as Scully was, is great, though it builds expectations that junior performances will turn into big senior wins immediately, which is rarely the case.
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"To be honest, it was a bit of a relief more than anything, to live up to the expectation," he laughed of winning in Carrick and acknowledging he felt some pressure. "I was very happy with it.
"I really wanted to win it because when myself and Patrick were juniors, I remember we went up the road from the first lap and we got caught with 3k to go. And I remember saying to myself 'I'll come back here one day and win that'. So it's nice to do that.
"This year the form is definitely coming together. I'm putting out numbers that I've never done, so I'm very happy. And that was one of my best sprints at the end of that race (in Carrick) so that's after coming on as well over the winter. It's nice to see the progression on that after trying to work on it in the gym.
"But I think it's just the accumulation of everything… maybe being 21 now, being that bit more mature and being able to make the better decisions towards the end the races."
He also said his mixing his studies with his cycling is something that has very much suited him of late, now that he is in his second year of his law degree and settled into the pattern of study and training.
"I'm studying what I'm really interested in and I get to race away as well, so I'm really happy with that balance," he said.
Looking ahead, he is eyeing Dornan Rás Mumhan and Rás Tailteann; the latter a race where he worked himself into a potentially stage-winning position on last year's stage 4 only to crash out. That left his two breakaway companions - Tom Martin and Willem Perrett - to finish 1st and 2nd on the stage.
But before the major domestic stage races, there is the not-so-small matter of the Des Hanlon Memorial this Sunday, which will unfold on what are home roads for Scully.
"For me, I'm a Carlow, rider so I think the Des Hanlon has to be a massive goal," he said. "Especially with the new finish this year, it's going to finish on top of Rossmore so that will be a good climb to finish with."
