This season did not start off how the 24-year-old had originally envisioned. After experiencing consistent knee pain, Archie consulted with the team’s medical staff and underwent surgery in early February. Instead of racing alongside his teammates, Archie has been recovering from surgery to remove plica in both knees. 

“This is probably what’s caused all my injuries in the past,” Archie said, “so that’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully once this is all worked out, I won’t have any more issues and it’s looking that way. At the moment, it’s going well, so hopefully I can close that chapter of my life away with knee problems and crack on with the bike.”

Archie had the surgery in London and opted to stay with family in Ireland for the initial recovery period rather than immediately return to his training base in Andorra.

“I went home to Wicklow for three weeks [after the surgery] for really intensive physio and to be looked after. The thought of double-crutching in the snow wasn't ideal for me,” he laughed. “I had a nice time at home with friends and family, so that's quite nice. To be ‘normal’ in February is not something us pros usually get to do, so to hang out with my brother and my sisters was quite special.”

Upon his return to Andorra, Archie set about a diligent routine of physiotherapy and gym work to aid his recovery and rebuild his strength.

“It’s just been full gas rehab and a return to the bike, a steady build up since then. I’ve had a couple of niggles but it’s all to do with adapting to scar tissue from the surgery. That settles with time and it’s going well. I started pedalling maybe two-and-a-half weeks after, but I wasn't riding properly outside, for an hour, for a month,” he said.

Archie schedules his Wahoo KICKR sessions to align with the racing schedule.

“I usually try to be on the KICKR when there’s a bike race on TV. If there’s not a bike race on, sometimes it’s a struggle but I’ve also been working my way through The Wire, which is really good.”

The first day that Archie was allowed to ride outside was a mixture of relief and excitement.

“To ride outside again was quite nice and to ride without issues and to be confident that this is going in the right direction was really reassuring. And it just makes me excited for what’s to come. I can’t wait to pin some numbers on,” Archie said.

While Archie and the team’s medical staff are pleased with his recovery so far, there’s still work to be done before he resumes racing. The goal for June is for Archie to return to his previous weekly training volume. It’s still too early to confirm exactly when he will next line up with his teammates, but Archie is hoping for late summer.

“The team are being great. 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, you know? So 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. Racing in August is realistic, whether that means a couple of stage races before Worlds and an Italian block in October or the Vuelta and Worlds, the Italian blocks, something like this would be great. It is what's getting me out of bed in the morning. To be honest, I'd be keen for anything. I just want to put a number on and get stuck in,” he said.

This is not the first time in his career that Archie has been forced to take a break from racing due to injury. Archie knew what he was in for.

“I knew what was coming in a way, so I knew how it was going to go. And so in one way it's good, because I know I've done it before and I got through and I was like, ‘Oh, you've done it before, no worries.’ On the flip side of that, I know what a couple of months [away from racing and training] looks like. So it's pretty frustrating at the same time, but it's not my first rodeo, so it gives me a good head start to know I can do it,” he said.

Knowing that he has the team’s full backing has given Archie a piece of mind through this process.

“The team’s support means everything,” Archie said. “Dr. Jon Greenwell is an absolute lifesaver, and Matt Rabin has been head of my physio program. They've organized everything from the surgery itself to the whole rehab process and with my physio Mark McCabe in Ireland, to physio in Andorra. It's just been full gas and I can't thank them enough. I'm not just saying that. They've been amazing and they're the reason I'm back on a bike and healthy.”