"No luck involved here" – Roche salutes Healy on historic day for Ireland at the Tour de France

Ben Healy’s ride into yellow on Stage 10 of the Tour de France didn’t just mark a breakthrough for EF Education–EasyPost, it also rewrote Irish cycling history. Healy became the first rider from Ireland in 38 years to wear the maillot jaune, and the last man to do so, Stephen Roche, was watching closely.

“What a performance it was,” Roche told Sticky Bottle. “There’s no beating around the bush, no luck involved here. It was sheer sweat, tears and blood. He did everything perfectly.”

Roche, now 65, knows exactly what that jersey means. In 1987, he completed the rare triple: Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and World Championship titles. That year, he wore yellow. Now, Healy joins him in the select group of Irish riders to have done the same.

Stage 10 saw Healy deliver another all-or-nothing performance, this time for the overall lead. Already a stage winner earlier in the Tour, Healy rode solo over the final 15 kilometers after breaking clear from a shrinking lead group. Simon Yates won the stage, but Healy walked away with the bigger prize, after dragging the break away with enough time to lead the GC.

“There was no luck to this,” Roche emphasised. “He earned every inch of that road.”