Always regarded as a strong rider by those in the know, Rory Condon (Zappi Racing Team) really put himself on the map with the manner of his ride winning silver in the junior road race at the National Road Championships.
Then he decided to forego racing in Ireland, including the Junior Tour of Ireland, in favour of throwing himself into the Italian scene with Zappi, an Italian-British team. A couple of months on, how has he done? In a word; swimmingly.
The 17-year-old from Mallow in Co Cork has repeatedly taken very strong results, including in UCI-ranked racing. So much so, he has now secured selection onto his first Irish team, making the cut for the European Road Championships in France next month.
"It's been crazy, everything is just harder," he says of the hectic Italian scene, where bunches of 150+ riders are common. "I adapted pretty quickly, even the first race was good. In general, you're just climbing for longer and you're racing in that heat, 40 degrees at times. Everything is just harder."
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In July, Condon - who came up through the ranks with O'Leary Stone Kanturk in Ireland - was 8th overall in his first stage race, La Ciociarissima Juniors, in July, from a field of 144 starters. His most eye-catching result came in the UCI-ranked Gran Premio Sportivi Loria; a 134km 1.1 race. He was 8th, in the breakaway of 15. There were 170 starters on the day from 22 countries.
He has also placed 8th in Memorial Antonio Colo and Coppa Pietro Linari and placed 4th in Trofeo Maionchi Nevio. Last weekend he got to ride two UCI-ranked one day races back to back. And though they weren't his best results - 34th and 37th - Condon said they were a fantastic learning experience.
"I think the Italian bunches have been the hardest bunches I've raced in; trying to position yourself... and there's a lot more pressure with the climbs. Everyone wants to be at the front for the climbs.
"They're not flat courses where you just have the sprint finish to deal with. There's about 10 points in these races where everyone wants to be at the front. And that's especially the case for the first climb each race, when you have 150 riders still in the bunch.
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"You really need to be in the first 10 wheels going into those climbs. And when you do make it in the first 10, it's just game changing. It makes such a big difference
"It's been the biggest thing that I've been quite good at and that's why the results have been quite good. Especially at Loria... every time (getting good position for the climbs) really paid off. You can just find your own rhythm really quickly and get up them really fast."
Condon, who has been staying in Zappi Racing accommodation - with the junior and U23 riders - said training with the U23s had also brought on him. But he felt a combination of riding much hiller races, in really high temperatures, was exactly what he needed to introduce him to European cycling proper. His power numbers, for all types of efforts, have reached new personal bests
"I think you just get the confidence knowing that you can race and that you can't get that being from Ireland, where you have no experience of anything like racing in 40 degrees and the climbs. Even knowing, going forward, that I can race and train in this heat and I'm fine in it and it's become second nature to me...
"I think this has fuelled me (to progress further) and I've proven it to myself that I've got good ability out here. We'll see, but it's been good for the confidence for sure. And it’s good for the belief that I might be able to get somewhere with this. I've learnt a lot here, like an awful lot."
Though Condon is going into sixth year in school, for his Leaving Cert, he has delayed his return to Ireland until after this weekend as he wants to squeeze in some more training and another couple of races. He'll come home early next week and the prepare for the Europeans in France early next month.
And what about getting that call confirming he'd been picked for Ireland for the first time?
"It's class, I'm really happy," he said of his Europeans selection. "It's a fantastic opportunity. It's obviously a massive honour and it's a good reward for everything you do, everything you've put into it, especially getting picked for a major championship.
"It will be something that you really can look back on and say to yourself 'God, that was unreal to do, representing your country'. Even if you get nowhere with it, may you never make it anywhere with cycling, I can say 'jeez that was great.'"
