"If I raced the first couple of weeks differently, I could have been in a really good GC position" - Ben Healy starting to believe in Grand Tour winning capabilities
Cycling
One of the most dangerous breakaway riders in the modern peloton, Ben Healy failed to take a stage victory on his Tour de France debut in 2024. That's not to say the Irishman didn't leave his mark on the race though, and so impressive was the EF Education-EasyPost rider, that he is even starting to believe in Grand Tour GC possibilities.
The 24-year-old was a consistent threat at the Tour de France this summer, although as mentioned, a stage victory to add to his success at the 2023 Giro d'Italia ultimately proved elusive. "In some ways, it was kind of cool. I was at the final of a Tour de France stage and really competing for the win and obviously, I'm disappointed, but I can't have any other feelings about guys being stronger than me at the end of the day," recalls Healy to Cycling News of his close call on stage 14.
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Like many at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year, Healy's hopes were consistently scuppered by UAE Team Emirates and Tadej Pogacar. Unlike some others though, the Irishman doesn't hold Pogacar's unrelenting quest for victories against him. "I think if anyone was as strong as Tadej, they'd always do the same thing as well," he ponders. "If you can win the stage, you go for the stage. It's annoying but it was just cool to be a part of it all the same."
The fact Healy was there mixing it up with the likes of Pogacar and co has given the former Irish national champion food for thought though. "It's kind of got me thinking about GC a bit, that's a big thing that I've learned. I think if I raced the first couple of weeks differently, I could have been in a really good GC position going into the third week as well," explains the 24-year-old. "I think that's something we need to sit down in the off-season and talk about. I really want to do a repeat of this year [in 2025] and hopefully get some nicer results out of it, take what I've learned from this year and apply that to next year."
"But yeah, maybe, after the Grand Tour routes come out and I think there's opportunity there, then I think that's something that I definitely to maybe consider as well," he adds. "It's only my third pro year at the end of the day and I think every race, every season, I learn so much more and I'm only becoming a better rider for it."
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- I doubt he and Remco will have much to argue over, they can both do their thing. All things considered, I doubt he’d have gotten a better deal. Maybe he’s the type that likes to stick with what he knows?Mistermaumau10-01-2025
- Whatever your feelings he brought success to the team and made the Belgians proud by succeeding in the classics.alsene10-01-2025
- I don't like him either. Makes sense that they'd give him oval wheels.Veganpotter10-01-2025
- She is the strongest and the strongest don't need no tactics. As soon as the road rises, she comes to the front and drops everybodyabstractengineer10-01-2025
- I feel like he is past his peakabstractengineer10-01-2025
- Its the curse of a French rider on a french teamabstractengineer10-01-2025
- This guy is making a very stupid decision. His agent should have brought him superior offers. He is going to play 2nd fiddle to Remco and then wonder why he isn't at the TDF or missing all GTs in a season.abstractengineer10-01-2025
- Hirschi and Alaphilippe on Cancellara's team, honestly sounds like a great choice if they manage to play the game the way Van der Poel did, a few years ago. They know where they need to be at the end of next year, in terms of points, so now it's just a question of being there. I'm not sure Alaphilippe will play the role he dreams of, and his jerky movements on the bike continue to annoy me, but I truly wish him and the team the best of luck in reaching their goal. It makes for better racing when teams like Tudor (he still refers to it as a "project," love that) are fighting to get into the World Tour.RidesHills09-01-2025
- Nice to see him with a sense of humor about the wins. That's actually a really good sign of how he's feeling, most of the time.RidesHills09-01-2025
- He’s good at messing up his WCs ;-)Mistermaumau09-01-2025