"I showed I can definitely focus on GC and go for it if I want to” - Ben Healy buoyed by impressive Tour de France debut

One of the most entertaining riders in the peloton, Ben Healy made his anticipated Tour de France debut in 2024. Although he couldn't capture a stage victory, the Irishman impressed, even maintaining a high GC placing until illness struck in the third week.

“After the Tour de France this year and the level I got to, I think I showed I can definitely focus on GC and go for it if I want to,” he says to Rouleur about his performance, having been sitting 13th overall in the third week before slipping to 27th after the aforementioned illness took hold. “I think right now it’s a bit early – I still enjoy racing the Ardennes Classics and stage hunting – but in the future for sure maybe I will. But right now I’m happy with what I’ve been doing the last few years.”

What he's been doing the last few years, is lighting up the races he enters with his relentless attacking style and trademark long-range moves. As he admits himself though, a big reason for the attacks from distance is because his lack of a sprint finish. "If I go to a sprint with someone, I’ve lost,” Healy admits honestly. “I don’t want to think like that all the time, but when you look at it, it’s the reality of things.”

“The thing I am missing is the sprint at the end, and in so many bike races now it’s so hard to drop the other guys, so that kick to the end is something that will cost me a lot in my career,” he continues. “It’s a case of: do I work on that? And I’m so far off my sprint at the moment, that realistically am I still going to be contesting sprints [if he does sprint training]? It’s a give or take situation and a big gamble to really go for my sprint. Right now, I’m not too interested in it. I’ll always do little things to improve, but it’s never going to be a major focus of mine.”

Although the sprint may be lacking, the overall progression of Healy has been sensational over the past couple of years. “My rate of progression since turning pro has been crazy to be honest, and it doesn’t feel like I’m slowing down," the former Irish champ assesses. “There’s not so much training for it [his trademark long-distance attacks] – it’s just what I’m good at, that long sub-threshold effort for a long time. My numbers don’t get worse over a long race, they just stay the same. I consider it a lot [reigning it in], but I enjoy racing like that so I don’t really want to change.”

In future Tour de France appearances though, getting a stage victory under his belt is the main target. Given he was in multiple breaks this year, his lack of success certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort. “You look at the guys who won from breaks, and they were guys who’ve been on the podium of Grand Tours. They’re pretty tough wins to get," Healy recalls. “I’m not going out and doing sprints every day because it’s not my thing. But working on my strengths and trying to get better at those is my thing.”