EXCLUSIVE: "I think we can really do something" - Ireland and Ben Healy eye not-so-secret World Championships heist years in the making
CyclingSaturday, 26 September 2026 at 19:00
Among the favourites and major nations plotting their World Championships tactics, Ireland and Ben Healy hope to pull off a rainbow jersey heist hiding in plain sight when the dust settles over the 2026 elite men's road race on Sunday. CyclingUpToDate has spoken with Jamie Meehan ahead of the men's elite road race, who will help the team's ambitions of reaching the rainbow jersey.
EF Education-EasyPost rider Healy arrives at the start-line among those in contention for the world title, but after taking the bronze medal last year, the 26-year-old is still soaring under the radar on the eve of the race.
A triumphant Ben Healy attack - of which he demonstrated at the GP de Montreal dress rehearsal two weeks ago - would certainly surprise a few if the Irishman was to hold off the rest and cross the line first. But for Ireland, it'll be a plan four years in the making coming to a boil.
Behind Healy's bid for the rainbow jersey, he's backed by experienced team captain Ryan Mullen, as well as emerging talents Darren Rafferty and Jamie Meehan. With several young riders bubbling behind Healy and making breakthroughs into the professional ranks, the next generation of Irish cycling is well and truly on the way.
Ben Healy before the start of Clasica San Sebastian 2026
"I think we can really do something"
Speaking to CyclingUpToDate in an exclusive interview, Debut rider Meehan signalled Ireland's intent to influence the race in Montreal on a course that suits the young climber, and his team leader Healy.
"I've done the under-23 Before in Glasgow [2023 World Championships, Ed.], which was actually my first-ever race with the Irish team and a couple years later now to be at the elite is pretty cool.
"I knew it was one that would probably suit me but when you look at the guys we've got now: no one just walks on to an Irish team anymore, you know, everyone's got to earn their spot. Which is quite good for such a small country. So pretty delighted to be here, especially on a circuit like this where I think we can really do something."
Meehan rode the under-23 road race in Glasgow alongside Rafferty as the pair now combine for the first time at elite level. Meanwhile, Mullen's rioe has seen him become a valuable teammate of Healy as the Irish team doubled down on the rider since that same 2023 championships.
With a 10th place finish thanks to a daring Olympic Games move in 2024, 7th place at the World Championships a few weeks later and then Healy's battling bronze in Kigali last year, both the EF rider's individual superiority and team tactics have put Ireland firmly in the conversation in a proven trend of greater influence and results on the world stage.
Meehan makes no mistake about it, he and the Ireland team are all-in for Healy. Put simply, the trio will support him to put him in the best possible position before the finale.
Ireland team built to support Healy
"I'm sure we're gonna kind of talk about it and we're gonna have a team plan and I mean there's no there's no other way to look at it really - we've got Ben [Healy] here, and we know what Ben and can do.
"We've got to back him to the best of our abilities, to be honest. So, it's pretty simple. I don't think there's any anything special really there. We've really just got to back him and give him all the support we can."
The 2026 Ireland line-up might be compact but it's certainly efficient. Mullen is a seasoned pro at positioning and jostling his way through the peloton. He will likely be tasked with keeping Healy in position through the largely flat opening 100 kilometres.
Rafferty, Healy's EF teammate, rose through the ranks as a promising one-day racer, time triallist and even general classification contender at the Giro Next Gen. His Grand Tour experience in recent seasons could help give him the staying power to stay amongst the bunch through several laps of the circuit.
23-year-old Cofidis rider Meehan brings the legs. Fourth place at last week's Tour of Slovakia, the Donegal native is a natural climber and showed he's got the form to offer a potential launching point or pacing support - particularly on the uphill sections of the course.
'It's great like having Ryan [Mullen]. Darren [Rafferty] and Ryan have both done a couple of World Championships, they've got that experience.
"And Ryan, he's top lead out man. It's pretty good thought we've got him because I think that maybe me, Ben and Darren trying to fight our way through the bunch wouldn't be the most effective thing. Yeah it's great, we're a pretty well-rounded team. I think we can all add to each-other's abilities."
Jamie Meehan will take part in the Montréal World Championships
Unpredictable World Championships
But, ultimately, it all comes down to Healy. In a race without Tadej Pogacar, the 26-year-old thrives when the race is longer and harder, making him a formidable opponent in World Championships races. Meehan admitted that anything can happen in racing these days.
"I mean when we look at race now, it's it's kind of crazy. How early the race is opening. We'll have to take all that into account for sure but, yeah, I don't know I guess a bit closer to the time, but I think on the day anything can happen really.
"Especially with Pogacar not being there, everyone thought that more confident. I think the race could go really a couple of ways."
Either way, the fans are in for a treat as the first-year professional joked about hoping he could've had the day off himself to watch it. He laughed: "I'm kind of raging I'm nearly not watching it on TV because I think it'll be It'll be a pretty good one to watch. I should have booked it off myself."
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However, jokes aside, Meehan knows that the heat of the rainbow jersey race is going to be like nothing he has ever experienced: "I can't really kid myself either. It's gonna be another level. There's no no point in kind of getting carried away either."
When Ben Healy makes his inevitable reach for glory on Sunday afternoon, some of the cycling world might see it as a smash and grab.
But for Ireland, a big performance from their leader would be the coming together of a not so secret plan years in the making.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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