Daire Feeley may have "let the guard down" and seen his top end performance level drift a way a little about winning Rás Tailteann in 2022 but the Roscommon man says he is very much back with his eyes fixed on prizes this season.
The All human-VeloRevolution rider told stickybottle he had put in a "big volume" winter of training, spurred on the fact he was dissatisfied with his innings last year and was determined to put that right during the 2024 campaign.
Feeley explained how his lifestyle changed after the Rás win, as he slipped from the full focus required to go toe-to-toe with the other best riders in the country.
But he sounded more bullish than ever and believes his efforts over the winter will now stand him in very good stead as he sets about making up for some lost ground in the months ahead.
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He began the season with 4th in the Mick Lally Memorial in Summerhill, Co Meath, on Saturday, before placing 5th in the Seamus Kennedy Memorial in nearby Navan on Sunday.
His performance in the Mick Lally may have delivered a spectacular win on another day as he broke clear in a breakaway on the opening lap before going solo and staying clear alone for the next two laps. While he was caught on the final passage of the circuit, his team mate Mark Dowling went on to win.
"I was opening the gap in places and then other parts of the course suited a group turning over," Feeley said of the chasing group that continued to go up and over in pursuit of him."If there ever was a time to go up the road in a silly move it was that, because I knew well Mark had the experience and would use his head and save the legs for the finish.
"He did that and we won it, and that's the main thing. You know me in this race, it's always a case of 'nearly'. I've never won this race so history repeated itself. I had blocked legs but I used it to open up.
"And it's great to see Mark going well this time of year because he's one of the main assets of Irish cycling and we have him on our team."
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Reflecting on the last couple of seasons - where he has been the best rider on the domestic scene - he was clearly not happy with last year but already feels he's well back on track.
"I probably had one of the best winters I've ever had. I'll be honest, I suppose after winning the Rás I became complacent. I got used to living a non-athlete life. When you get the results it's important you respect the work that goes into getting them.
"When I started winning consistently, I got too confident and let my guard down. And then the form started to drop because I let the training drop and I couldn't let that happen again.
"Last year I was sick with myself for not putting the work in. I had the opportunity, I just got lazy. But now I know what I have to do and we're back to do damage come May."
Asked how exactly the winter had gone so well, Feeley replied: "Big volume. I thrive off the big volume. I suppose last winter (2022-23) we were at the end of a honeymoon phase of a relationship when we were having fun and stuff like that, and I wanted to spend time with Olivia more so.
"But Olivia pushed me this winter to go out and do the work because I was complaining last year when I wasn't getting the results and she was the reason behind," he laughed.
However, while Feeley said he took the foot off the gas a little after his Rás Tailteann win in 2022, he also acknowledged that period at least gave him some welcome time "to reflect on the results over the past while". But he still had "a lot more out there to achieve".
Looking ahead, Feeley noted Rás Mumhan was the first major showdown of the season but also said he would like to win the National Road Series and was frustrated he didn't do so last year.
"I like winning and when I come to a race, I'm here to win, and the team is here to win. So if we can do that - week in, week out - it will be a successful season."
