Sean Kelly "majorly proud" of Ben Healy's Tour de France stage win: "It's been a long time since Sam Bennett won the last one for Ireland"

So long regarded as one of the most dangerous breakaway riders in the whole of the sport, Ben Healy finally managed to secure himself a Tour de France stage win on stage 6 of the 2025 edition earlier this week. In the process, the EF Education-EasyPost star brought a smile to the face of Irish cycling icon Sean Kelly.

Kelly, himself a five-time Tour de France stage winner among numerous other successes in a legendary career, is commentating on the 2025 edition of the French Grand Tour for TNT Sports, and after Healy crossed the line, the 69-year-old was quick to shower the praise onto his compatriot.

"Majorly proud. He goes all day, gets into the breakaway, goes from a long way out and gets his stage win. That's the type of rider he is," Kelly said during TNT Sports' coverage of the Tour de France. "It's been a long time since Sam Bennett won the last one for Ireland (stage 10 of the 2020 Tour de France ed.), and to win this stage, against the company he was in this breakaway - major victory."

"It's just unbelievable," said Healy in his own post-stage interview. "It’s what I’ve worked all for - not just this year, but the whole time. Hours and hours of hard work from so many people, so to pay them back is just really amazing. Last year was a real eye-opener and made me believe I could do it. It made me knuckle down, do the hard work and refine my racing style, and I think it paid off today."

"I knew I needed to get away from the group and pick my moment - and I think I timed it well and caught them by surprise a little bit. Then it was just head down and do my best ride to the finish," the Irishman concluded. "Today’s stage suited me down to the ground. This was a stage I circled in the book from the start so to do it at the first attempt is really amazing."