One of Ireland's most promising young cyclists is back on the road again after undergoing double knee surgery to treat what has been a long running intermittent issue.
Archie Ryan, a 24-year-old professional with the EF Education EasyPost team, had already highlighted himself as a very strong climber with several promising wins. He made a fine Grand Tour debut last August in the Vuelta a Espana, taking fourth and ninth on stages and going in three long-range attacks.
However, the Wicklow rider hasn’t had a smooth pathway thus far, missing long periods of his amateur career due to periodic knee pain. The issue flared up again over the winter, as he told RTÉ Sport in recent days, revealing that he opted for surgery in a bid to fix the long-running issue.
"Unfortunately my knee flared up in January, so we decided to have double knee surgery," he said. "I had double bilateral plica removal in February. Since then I’ve just been recovering from that and trying to build back on the bike."
Ryan’s twin brother Will also showed talent from a young age but retired from the sport due to knee issues. His mother has also experienced similar problems, but Ryan is hoping that the operation will eliminate his issue once and for all.
"It’s probably what’s caused all my injuries in the past. So, that’s the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "Hopefully I won’t have any more issues, that I can close that chapter of my life and crack on with the bike."
Ryan’s issue was diagnosed at the Fortius Clinic in London. Plica is a fold in the membrane that protects knee joints, and Ryan believes his was inflamed when he put in a big block of training in November and December.
"It’s nice to actually find it and work on it. I hope I never have to go to a gym again, and that I can just ride the bike," he smiled. "That’d be great, and to get stuck in and get some numbers pinned on."
Ryan won the Tumble Mountain stage of the Junior Tour of Wales as an amateur and secured a contract with the feeder team to the Visma-Lease a Bike pro squad, which is currently set to win the Vuelta a Espana with Jonas Vingegaard.
He missed much of the 2021 and 2023 seasons with knee injuries, but highlighted his talent when he won a stage of the Tour of Slovakia in 2022, took stage 7b of the Tour de l’Avenir the following season and also won the Coppa Citta’ Di San Daniele.
He turned pro in 2024 and promptly rewarded EF Education EasyPost with an inspired uphill stage win plus second overall in the Settimana Internazionale Coppa e Bartali race.
His Vuelta debut last year was very promising, although hip issues forced him to leave the event before stage 13.
Now he’s hoping for a clear run at things, knowing that his vast potential can be best realised with consistent racing and training.
So where are things at now?
Ryan’s operation was on 10 February and he returned to the bike a couple of weeks after surgery. Since then he has ramped things up gradually at his base in Andorra.
"At the minute it’s going really well," he said. "This morning, I did two hours and then an hour and a half this evening with gym in between. So, my days are super busy. It’s just pretty full gas, trying to get the load in and manage it well, and keep on increasing it."
Ryan’s last competitive event was Il Lombardia in October of last year. He’s itching to return to competition but knows that things have to be done step by step. Fortunately his EF Education-EasyPost team is fully on board.
"The team are being great at the minute," he said. "They’re just trying to put no pressure on me, so I don’t fix my eyes on a date and do too much to be ready.
"As soon as I get some solid weeks of proper training underneath me, and I’m ready to race, I’m sure I’ll get the call up and be ready to go."
Riding the Tour de France is impossible this year due to his long period off the bike, but team-mate Ben Healy is hoping to make the race himself after also being injured.
He crashed prior to stage 1 of the at the Itzulia Basque Country race and while he finished that event, he was later diagnosed with a non-displaced sacral fracture in his back.
Healy won a stage, wore the yellow jersey and finished ninth overall in last year’s Tour.
The mountainous nature of the Tour means it should suit Ryan perfectly in the future but he will need to wait at least another year to ride.
Providing his recovery keeps going well, a return to the Vuelta this year is a possibility.
"I’d love to do it," he said. "But I have to be ready, and I need to see how my recovery goes. That’s the main thing. I can’t go there and not be ready. It’s not a small lap of Spain.
"I don’t really mind where I start back, I just want to race my bike. That is what’s getting me out of bed in the morning. To be honest, I’d be keen for anything. I just want to pin a number on and just get my teeth stuck in."
