It's not that long ago that Archie Ryan was spending his transition year in secondary school racing in Spain in the hopes he might one day become an international, and even a professional, rider. These days the 22-year-old from Co Wicklow is in his neo pro season in the top tier of the sport - with EF Education-EasyPost.
He has already taken one victory and looked like one of the strongest climbers in several big races he has ridden. This week, the plan to send him to the Tour of the Alps was set to one side in favour of promoting him to the Ardennes Classics line-up for both La Flèche Wallonne (1.UWT) and tomorrow's Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.UWT); a big vote of confidence in a year with a steep learning curve.
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While he has spent much of his time working for others - and will do the same again for Ben Healy and Richard Carapaz tomorrow - the big names have also been deployed for him as he has been given his chances in recent months.
"It's weird because you're having a (team) meeting and you're there with guys like Uran, Chavez, Carapaz... all these hitters and they're, like, 'we're working for Archie today'," Ryan told stickybottle. "And you're saying to yourself 'oops, I really need to pull my finger out here,'" he laughed. He added several of the races this season had demonstrated to him just how high the level is in the World Tour.
But first, what about that stage win at Coppi e Bartali (2.1) last month, where he looked like perhaps the best climber in the race and went on the attack repeatedly before taking victory on the fourth day?
"It was brilliant, and great to do it with the new team and to just thank them for all of their hard work in getting me there," Ryan said. "To win also just means everything is working. On one of my goals was getting my hands in the air at least once this year and that's out of the way, nice and early.
"I can be quite happy with the year already, it's all gone quite well. So it just takes the pressure off and it means I'm more relaxed and for the next races and hopefully everything will go better."
While "feeling a bit rough after Coppi", Ryan went on one week later to place 5th at Gran Premio Miguel Indurain (1.Pro) before proceeding to Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT), his "first proper World Tour stage race". There he lined up against the likes of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Primož Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep).
And while the big three crashed out in the infamous stage 4 crash - with Vingegaard and Evenepoel suffering broken bones - Ryan also came down that week. And he did so at a very bad time, just as he had been given the nod by the team to go for his own result, backed by both Chaves and Uran.
"I managed to dodge the big one (on stage 4) but I had a small crash on the second last day at the back of the front group on the last ascent to the line, so I lost sometime," he said. "And then I was feeling bad the next day, probably because of the crash.
"So it was a bit disappointing, because I had a good chance to go for it there, and it was really cool to get that opportunity from the team. But it was great to get the first proper World Tour stage race in the legs and to see the level.
"The level is just so high. And, like I say, I was a bit off and I quickly found out I was a bit off. You've got to be at 100 per cent in these races. There's no such thing as easy races, especially in a race like the Basque Country.
"It's one of the hardest, if not the hardest, week-long race of the year. The level is super high and it was a great experience to see that the level to get an idea where I need to be, for sure."
"Getting used to the racing"
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And does stepping up to to that level come about with a changes in training? Or is it simply about riding more and more of these races?
"I wouldn't want to train any harder than I am already," Ryan laughed. "I think it's just about getting used to the racing; getting that racing in and then you sort of adapt to the level that you're in. And you can't compete with these guys unless you've got the experience, and you've got it in the legs. It's something you just can't replicate in training."
On Wednesday, Ryan went to the start line of what would become a Biblical edition of La Flèche Wallonne (1.UWT), with a combination of wind, rain, sleet and snow forcing down already cold temperatures. Ryan punctured just before the second ascent of Mur de Huy and because the cars were behind a whole line of dropped riders, his wait for a service was too long and his race was over.
"It was the coldest I've ever been in my life; horrendous," he said of the conditions. "I was looking around and everybody was shaking, teeth chattering, you could even hear moans it was so cold. And you're thinking 'God, this is horrid'.
"But I felt quite good, actually. And I was a bit disappointed to puncture. But it was, maybe, not the worst race to be forced into a early shower. I felt good, good sensations. And hopefully I'll have a bit better luck on Sunday and I can use my legs a bit more."
Asked what the plan is for Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Ryan says his will be a team role. "We haven't had our team meeting yet, but we're here in Liège with Ben (Healy) and Carapaz and they'll be top dogs. Both of them can win it and we'll hopefully give them a chance to do that."
Though fully behind Healy and Carapaz for tomorrow - when very rough weather is forecast again - Ryan is clearly already looking ahead to the Ardennes in the next few years. And it's very obvious he really fancies them.
"I think these races suit me, and I'm really happy to be here," he said. "I think these races are my kind of terrain and races I can do well in in the future. So it's cool to be here to get the experience in, and help the boys to the best possible results."
And though he has this year stepped up from Jumbo Visma Development, an U23 team, to a World Tour squad with several heavyweight, even iconic, riders, Ryan is not phased by it and is enjoying getting to know those riders.
"If you're in any new group situation, you've got to get to know the person, they'll help you for sure," he says. "But you think God, I'm sitting next to Carapaz, and he's the Olympic champion, and Uran who's just amazing, and one of the biggest names in the sport.
"And it is actually really weird to be companions of these guys, it's so cool. But they do help you in the races they tell you what to do. And I like to see myself as quite an outgoing person. So you can socialise with these guys and get on with them, which is great."
Looking ahead, beyond tomorrow's showdown in Belgium, Ryan will ride Eschborn-Frankfurt (1.UWT) in Germany on May 1st - "there are definitely hills there" - and Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes (1.1) on May 29th - "which is proper mountainous".
Beyond that, he says he will take a break to re-set for the second part of the season but he has "no idea" if he might ride a Grand Tour this year.
"The only thing that could be possible is the Vuelta," he says. "That would be very cool, but I haven't had that conversation yet with the team, so I've no idea."
