Have bike, will travel. Crossing the Celtic Sea to race has been a rite of passage for ambitious young Irish cyclists since Shay Elliott in the 1950s, but the game is changing in the 21st century. While Elliott didn’t move to the Continent until he was 22 years old, the Irish riders of today can’t afford to wait around, not when WorldTour teams are scouting talent at such a young age.
Archie Ryan and Darren Rafferty step up to the WorldTour in 2024 with EF Education-EasyPost, where they will join Irish champion Ben Healy, but they were both already based with teams abroad when they were juniors, and they spent their under-23 careers with squads expressly dedicated to preparing future professionals.
