"Let it be a lesson for the future" - Ben Healy holds no ill-will after Tadej Pogacar slipstream controversy at Amstel Gold Race

EF Education-EasyPost's Ben Healy rode to a breakthrough second-placed finish at the 2023 Amstel Gold Race. The question lingers though, could it have been even better if race winner Tadej Pogacar hadn't been given a slipstream boost by the car of the race director?

The 22-year-old Irishman doesn't agree that the drafting which an aerodynamic expert declared gave the UAE Team Emirates leader an advantage of "between ten and twenty seconds", had much impact on the overall result of the race. "I don't think it affected the outcome of the game. Even if I had caught Pogacar, he was hard to beat," admits Healy. "He didn't go all out after he rode off."

"It's not nice to see, but some things happened and you have to accept them," says Healy who also finished runner-up at the recent Brabantse Pijl behind Dorian Godon. "It just happened. I can't be mad at anyone. Things like that happen and hopefully it stays that way. Let it be a lesson, an example for the future."

With Healy having another crack at defeating the all-conquering Slovenian at La Fleche Wallone, the Irishman is hoping for another tough day in the saddle as he believes it will play to his advantage. “I like a hard race. When racing from the start, I don't get tired," he concludes.