In a season when the Ireland's women have taken the medals on the track and the Ireland's men have now scored on the road at the Europeans and juniors, there have also been some other notable performances at the UEC European Road Championships in France, including debut appearances.
In the junior women's road race, Ella Tandy made her first appearance for Team Ireland alongside increasingly experienced campaigner, Aliyah Rafferty.
They know each other well as they have been team mates on the Tofauti Everyone Active Majoco squad for the last two seasons.
While they made up what was a small Irish national team in the junior women's road race at the Europeans in Guilherand-Granges, both have strong potential for Ireland going forward.
That junior women's road race, over 63km, saw the field split to pieces, on a course with seven short and sharp climbs, all with gradients averaging 11 or 12 per cent. After the field blew to pieces, Spanish sensation Paula Ostiz capped an incredible season.
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Ostiz won the gold medal - just ahead of Anja Grossmann (Switzerland) and Chantal Pegolo (Italy), at three seconds. Ostiz added the road race gold to the European TT title she won just days earlier, in the week after winning the road race at the Worlds and claiming silver in the TT.
Rafferty finished in 45th, in a large group at 4:13 - while Tandy was 63rd at 6:43, with both riders now set to take the step up to U23 level and looking set for national team selection again next year.
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In the women's U23 road race - over 85.7km and 1,600m of elevation gain - Esther Wong, making her debut on the road for Ireland, after already competing for Team Ireland in cyclocross and track this season - was best of the Irish.
Wong finished in 49th, some 10:00 down on Paula Blasi (Spain), who was nine seconds up on a three-rider chasing group. Eleonora Ciabocco (Italy) won the battle for 2nd, ahead of Julie Bego (France) and Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia).
Emma Jeffers, who was also making her road debut for Ireland, came into the race after a recent strong stage win in Giro Mediterraneo in Rosa (2.2), and placed 54th at 10:59.
Lucy Bénézet Minns, a junior European champion on the track last year, was riding her first U23 race in the green of Ireland and placed 65th at 19:23.
Abi Conway, one of the very few Irish club riders in the national team - senior, U23 and junior - was also making her debut for Ireland at this level, though rode the recent Rás na mBan on the national team. Conway did very well to finish the road race in France, placing 74th at 19:49.
In the senior women's road race today, Ireland was represented by Fiona Mangan and Caoimhe O'Brien, both of whom were non-finishers. Demi Vollering claimed the ninth title in 10 years for the Netherlands with a long race attack.
Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) chased the lone leader through the final of the race, with Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) planted on her wheel, though Niewiadoma still won the silver medal from her Dutch rival.
