A first-year junior, Ryan Daly has marked himself out as one of the emerging youngsters in Irish cycling, capping a great cyclocross campaign with 3rd in National Cyclocross Championships at the weekend.
Though he has performed well at home, and pushed Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port) all the way in the silver-bronze battle in Ballinsaloe on Sunday, Daly's highlight this winter arguably came in Belgium.
The Scott Racing IRL rider went to Europe for some races during the Christmas period and more than held his own, especially in Trofee GP Sven Nys (CJ) on New Year's Day.
Though he started the race far from the front in the gridding, he kept his cool and had the legs to work his way up through the field; finishing an eventual 29th of 84 riders in a truly international field.
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It was the kind of performance that suggests he has plenty to give, and with some more international experience could get much further up the results.
"I was happy with that result," he told stickybottle of his promising day in Belgium. "I had a bad start in that race but I really did end up having a good ride. The first lap was tough, but then I started moving my way up."
Asked if his performance gave him confidence for the future, he said: "It definitely does. I look forward to going to Belgium again next year and giving it my all.
"This year, I'm a first year of junior, so it was about getting a look at what the racing was all about. I'll give it my all next year and hopefully I could get a few top 10s over there."
Having raced away at home this year, and came away from Sunday's championships with a medal at the first time of asking, Daly reflected on the last few months with satisfaction.
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"I'm happy enough with how it's gone, especially with Belgium, that definitely made my season. The racing over there is just incredible."
He added when he was lining up in an international environment, in the home of cyclocross, it was natural to feel some nerves but also to be delighted to be there.
"I'm excited to race there and to see what it's like. But at the same time, it's hard because you're starting mid-pack. It's just chaos at the first corner when you're halfway through 80 riders.
"There's so many good riders, but I loved racing over there. It's incredible, the support on the side of the course, someone screaming at you every second. It's incredible."
Looking ahead, Daly said his main focus this year would be on mountain biking. He intended to race in Britain at times and would love to represent Ireland at the Worlds, having already done so at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Dublin last month.
Last Sunday in the Ballinasloe Cycling Club-promoted nationals, he finished 3rd behind winner Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) and runner-up McKee. However, though Murphy was a clear winner, Daly and McKee were locked in a race-long battle to settle silver and bronze.
And though Daly was slightly disappointed he did not get the better of McKee for silver, he was gracious about the two riders who beat him on the day.
"I'm a little disappointed, but I gave it my all," he said. "It was a great ride and well done to the two lads, I was just a little bit off from them.
"When Curtis passed me, he passed me hard. I had to put a big effort in every time to come back up to him. I found that on some of the technical sections I could put a bit of time into him.
"And that's how we were always in front and behind each other. I was happy with the performance but Curtis was just a bit stronger."
