Spanning cycles in random directed graphs

We show that, in almost every $n$-vertex random directed graph process, a copy of every possible $n$-vertex oriented cycle will appear strictly before a directed Hamilton cycle does, except of course for the directed cycle itself. Furthermore, given an arbitrary $n$-vertex oriented cycle, we determine the sharp threshold for its appearance in the binomial random directed graph. These results confirm, in a strong form, a conjecture of Ferber and Long.