A cycling fan strolling through Phoenix Park yesterday afternoon seemed secretly pleased about it - "they'll be picking bits of Cipollini off the ground for a while", he smiled as the first stage of the Tour de France came crashing to an end.
In fact, Italian hotshot Mario Cipollini was bloody but unbowed and was straight back on the saddle after a dramatic pile-up in the final kilometres of the stage. It was a case of pride before a fall.
Only days before, Cipollini had stolen the spotlight from his fellow competitors with typical attention-seeking japes. He was the rider who posed for photographers on the throne in Dublin Castle.
In the event, Belgian Tom Steels was the stage winner and Englishman Chris Boardman is still wearing the yellow jersey. Cipollini has some catching up to do.
Earlier, the stage had been officially started by a nostalgic and emotional Stephen Roche in his home village of Dundrum, Co Dublin. Amid the cheering, Joe Daly, who sold Roche his first bicycle, watched in delight as the peloton passed by.
Cipollini's mishap added an unexpected drama to the final part of the tour in Dublin. It was a day when thousands congregated in the Phoenix Park and you didn't blink if you wanted to see the action.
"It was a case of now you see it, now you don't," said Mr Paddy Malone, from Castleknock, Co Dublin, on his glimpse of the cyclists. He had come with his wife, Deirdre, and their children, Caoimhe (9) and Lorcan (6), for a picnic in the park.
Nearby, husband and wife Mr Rocky Wall and Ms Rita Brennan, from Dun Laoghaire, said the atmosphere in the park was "great" and "everyone was getting on great together". The couple had arrived on a tandem bike. "It's easier to get around," said Mr Wall. Next Thursday, the intrepid travellers are taking it to Peru.
It wasn't the only tandem and there were bicycles of every description spotted around the city centre yesterday. The rain had held off and outside bars groups in full cycling apparel gathered, their bikes parked safely beside their pints.
An English couple, Ms Margaret Peacock and Mr Frank Peacock, who travelled from Preston, said: "We have a banner for Chris Boardman. It says `Dig In Chris'."
As well as cycling buffs, the tour has been notable for the proliferation of merchandise vans selling "genuine best souvenir possible Tour de France T-shirts only £10, come on everybodeee".
The young Frenchmen in these vehicles have great fun with their public address system. As one drove out of the Phoenix Park, he could be heard murdering that well-known Dublin ballad: "I met my love in the Charles de Gaulle . . . " Next stop Enniscorthy.