Ryan can now ride for an hour at a time. "And it feels fantastic", the 21-year-old Irishman says. "I've had quite a tough time. There were weeks when I had to return after twenty minutes because it was still impossible to ride without pain. Now I can start to build in peace and quiet."

Ryan had a very successful 2022, with stage wins in the Tour de Slovaquie and the Ronde de l'Isard, and fourth place in the Tour de l'Avenir. "After the season, I got sick, which meant that I had to stay off the bike for longer than I had hoped", Ryan explains what happened in the winter of 2022.

"When I got back on the bike in mid-November, my knee started bothering me. From that moment on, it was a long nightmare trying to solve the problems. I have seen many specialists, worked with my physiotherapist a lot, and started swimming to keep fit. I am glad there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

Putting a date on his return to competition is difficult, but Ryan hopes to pin on a number again by the end of the summer. "I am hungry to come back and work towards my highest level", he says. "Last season was a great year. Hopefully, I can get back to that level. But I'm already enjoying the one hour I get to sit on the bike. I'm just glad the nightmare of the last six months is behind me."