The new season in Europe has begun this weekend, when the first races kicked off in Mallorca. And though it may take a while for racing to get really cranked up, teams will also have been in action in other parts of the world - including the Middle East and Australia - by the end of next week.
With the World Tour teams, and the ProConti squads, always looking in the transfer market, a lot of deals will be done for next year, and beyond, even before the spring is over.
That means many of our Irish riders, and their agents, will be out to impress - and hustling hard - in the next few months. Unusually, most of our top tier riders are now entering the last year's of their contracts and need new deals; some with big prospects, others perhaps with a bit more to prove.
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New contracts can, of course, often involve riders extending with their current employers for another year or two, though others will also likely be on the move to pastures new.
There are only three Irish riders competing with World Tour of ProConti teams who have contracts beyond the end of this season; Lara Gillespie, Ben Healy and Megan Armitage.
Gillespie is locked in with World Tour team UAE Team ADQ until the end of 2026. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Megan Armitage (EF Education-Oatly) also have deals that don't expire until the end of next year.
But all of the other Irish riders currently competing with World Tour or ProConti teams are due for new deals this year, including:
Sam Bennett (34)
Bennett is now about to start the second year of his two-year deal with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. At 34 years, his career is closer to the end than the start. However, many sprinters - including Alexander Kristoff and Mark Cavendish - have shown in recent years winning into your late 30s is still possible, even if the sport is obsessed with youth at present.
Bennett does not have a top quality lead-out - or much of any kind of lead-out - with his French team since leaving Bora-hansgrohe, which makes it much harder to win. However, he showed flashes of his old kick when winning four stages and the overall at Four Days of Dunkirk last May. And that's what Bennett will need this year; early wins to strengthen his hand for a deal with a team.
The frequency of his wins, and the quality of those victories, has waned a little in recent years. However, one or two big victories would put all that to bed and show he is back at the highest level and ready for more with a new team.
Fiona Mangan (28)
It's probably a bit early to be talking about Fiona Mangan's 'contract year' considering the she's only just completed her first race with her new team, Winspace Orange Seal. However, she's national champion and she's now also a ProConti rider; someone on the move up in the sport.
The Limerick woman won both the elite road race and TT at the Nationals this year and will be looking to take another step with with her new French team in 2025, which will include competing in much bigger races.
Mangan will want to find her feet first - before getting into any discussion about where she will be next year. But as the reigning double Irish champion, and now racing at a higher level, this season can be a really interesting one for her.
Eddie Dunbar (28)
One of the narratives around Dunbar during his career has been a series of unfortunate crashes. However, the Corkman finally was able to show what he has under the bonnet in flying to two stage wins at La Vuelta last year. And now that 2025 is the third season in a three-year deal with Team Jayco AlUla, those late season wins couldn't have come at a better time.
A new contract for the Corkman this year should be bigger than his current deal, which is great news for him, as his Vuelta wins really saw his value rocket. Those performances will also still be fresh in the minds of management at his current team, and at other squads who may be interested in the Irishman.
A few very strong performances in the early part of the season would only serve to further strengthen his hand when it comes to a new deal. The only choice will be whether he wants to stay where he is, or go elsewhere. Either way, that brilliant Vuelta means the decision should be his to make.
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Mia Griffin (26)
Griffin has moved back up to World Tour level this year with Roland, the team she formerly rode for in 2023 when it was Israel Premier Tech Roland. Last year, being part of the Irish team pursuit line-up that went to the Olympics was the main item in the agenda. Griffin rode for UK Continental team DAS-Hutchinson-Brother-UK on the road in 2024.
She has already made the podium in a World Tour road race - the only Irish woman ever to do so - when she sprinted to 3rd in Tour of Guangxi in China at the end of 2023. With her sprinting abilities, and having gained huge experience from the Olympics - both qualifying and then riding so well in Paris - she could do very well this year.
The aim will be to ride as strongly as she can for her team, but also take a few results of her own - and hopefully do so in the first half of the season - so another World Tour contract comes her way for next year. Of all of the riders on this list, Griffin could be the surprise package this year.
Ryan Mullen (30)
Mullen and Danny van Poppel have become two of the best lead-out men in the business. Though they held their end up, and some, last year for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, their sprinter - Sam Welsford - was not as prolific as many expected. The Australian only won one race in 2024 after claiming three victories in Tour Down Under last January.
Mullen is now in the second year of his current two-year contract with Bora-hansgrohe, having also spent the previous two years with the team, leading out Sam Bennett. The German team will surely want to hold onto the Irishman after this year, considering the quality of the job he does and how reliable he has been.
Hopefully Welsford can maintain his winning touch through 2025 in the way he didn't last year - though he had the Olympics with the Australian team pursuit squad to think of, winning gold in Paris. If Welsford can hit the heights, it would keep together the sprinter and lead-out trio in the years ahead. And with the money that has arrived into Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe last year, it would be a good place for Mullen to stay.
Darren Rafferty (21)
Rafferty was a neo pro with EF Education-EasyPost last year and is going into his second year of a two-year deal in 2025. Still aged just 21 years, and having won Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc (2.2U) as an U23, he went on to make his Grand Tour debut last year at La Vuelta; a major vote of confidence in his first year out of U23 racing.
Rafferty can TT and climb and that makes him a general classification rider; the most valuable commodity in cycling, bar a few classics or sprinter superstars. The Co Tyrone rider has progressed seamlessly every year since he was a junior and there is no reason to believe this season won't be the same.
If he can maintain that trajectory in 2025, nudging his performances up another notch, the results could be very exciting; perhaps bigger than anyone expects. EF Education-EasyPost looks like a great environment for him to stay in, as he should get his own chances there when feeling good. Whether he stays or goes, he is a young rider who should have no problem securing a better contract for next year.
Archie Ryan (23)
Ryan was beset with injury during his U23 career but on the rare occasion he was able to string some races together, he demonstrated his class. He claimed a mountain stage win at Tour de l'Avenir in 2023 despite injury having allowed him ride just one one-day race before the event.
Last year, his first in the World Tour with EF Education-EasyPost, saw Ryan on the attack in many races as soon as the race went uphill. He looked like the strongest, certainly the most explosive, climber in many of the races he rode. And though he claimed one victory last year - at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali (2.1) - with a bit more luck here and there he should have won more.
His performance at the Worlds - where he was 21st on a brutally hard course - went largely unnoticed, but it was an excellent ride over 274km. It confirmed his potential for the Ardennes Classics, for example. If he wins races this year - and he looks like he will - 2025 could prove a launch pad to a big new contract, hopefully with his current team where he is likely to get a lot of chances if he stays.
Rory Townsend (29)
Former national champion Townsend perhaps flew under the radar a little in 2024. Having ridden at Continental level for most of his career, he finally got a shot with a ProConti team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. He is now entering the second season of a two-year contract with the Swiss squad.
His story is already remarkable; finishing college before turning pro and only doing so after being on the verge of packing in his dream of making it to the paid ranks. Hopefully after his first year in the higher tier in 2024 he can crack on this season. He has a very strong sprint that can deliver wins in Europe; something he already knows all about.
Another contract of at least two years, and at least at ProConti level, would be a fitting reward for his talents and, most of all, his perseverance. Getting his hands in the air, and doing it early in the season, would put him in a strong position.
