Ben Healy has with no doubt been a breakthrough rider this spring and he goes on to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia. The Irishman will be one of EF Education - EasyPost's many weapons to gather stage wins and he looks to test himself in a new environment.
“Obviously I’m really happy with the Ardennes and just happy to make my first Grand Tour," Healy told Cyclingnews. “I needed a few days off after a big block in the Ardennes, but I think that was more from fatigue rather than illness. I’m rested now and haven’t any signs of illness so I think I’m ready to perform. I’m an opportunistic rider. This is a good race for me. I really like racing in Italy and it's brought me success in the past. So I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead."
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The American team look to fight for the overall classification with Hugh Carthy but with a few exceptions bring their A-Game to the Corsa Rosa. Rigoberto Uran and Jonathan Caicedo will be contenders to fight for wins in the mountains, whilst Healy will team up with Magnus Cort Nielsen and Alberto Bettiol on the hilly days. There is plenty talent, and several days that suit the 22-year old quite well.
“I think that's the question that I need to find out, you know. I rested well after the Ardennes and just taking it day by day. We know it's going to be a hard race and hopefully the legs will also be," he continued. “It’s an unknown for me. It's not something I had an opportunity to really even train in that much, you know. This sort of terrain is really something that's gonna test me. I'm gonna find out whether it's something that suits me as well, but I think if the legs are good then there's no reason why I can’t do well on the big climbs."
Healy won a stage and finished third at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, won the GP Industria & Artigianato, finished second behind Tadej Pogacar at the Amstel Gold Race and concluded his spring block with fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liége. An aggressive rider with tremendous ability to ride solo, he will have several opportunities to thrive in a brutal race that doesn't offer the sprinters many calm days.
“I think for the few bunch sprints at the beginning of the Giro, I don’t plan to participate there. I think I’ll look once we get a little bit into the Giro. I will not say that you will never see me, so I guess we’ll have to see what happens," he concluded.
The Giro d’Italia is finally here! Our squad is ready to take on the first of the grand tours of the season in beautiful Italy. Get ready for three weeks of exciting racing from these big hitters. “I think with the team that we have and the way we have raced so far this year, we…
