Stephen Clancy looking relaxed in the peloton before the fireworks really went off in China.
Nicolas Roche closed his season with 4th at the Japan Cup on Sunday and Eddie Dunbar and Ryan Mullen ended their 2018 campaigns at the Tour of Guangxi in China on the same day.
However, just days later Stephen Clancy has gotten Ireland's involvement in the 2019 pro road racing season officially underway.
The Novo Nordisk man is the only Irish rider in action at the Tour of Hainan (2.HC), which marks the start of the UCI's 2019 pro road racing season.
Limerick's Clancy finished in the main bunch, in 87th place, at the end of a very hot opening stage.
That opener earlier today took the riders 90km on a circuit race route starting and finishing in Danzhou.
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While Clancy’s involvement is technically the first time any Irish pro rider pins on numbers in the new season, the WorldTour doesn’t get underway until the Tour Down Under after the turn of the calendar year.
In reality, this nine-stage race in China completes what has been a tricky 2018 season for Stephen Clancy.
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Mareczko takes the opening stage in Danzhou ahead of Page and Belletti earlier today.
Now coming to the end of his sixth season at ProContinental level, Clancy's troubles began at the end of last year when he broke his collar bone.
After coming back from that, he picked up a knee injury earlier this year which took a long time to recover from.
Despite being out of race action for about nine months, Clancy wanted to ride the nationals in Sligo in July. And so he took to the start line, though he was a non-finisher.
Since then he has been chasing the season, riding a number of races in Canada in July. Stephen Clancy then went on to ride the Tour of Rwanda and Tours of China I and II.
He will look to get a decent level of racing into his legs during the eight stages to come at the Tour of Hainan ahead of what will hopefully be a trouble-free winter.
The honours were settled on the opening stage in China today after a dicey bunch sprint after the early breakaway was caught on the final lap of four.
Jakub Mareczko of Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia took the spoils – stage victory and the race lead – after a little over two hours of racing.
He got the better of Dylan Page (Switzerland) and Manuel Belletti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidemac) in the final dash to the line.
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