Spring comet Ben Healy talks about his breakthrough year: "I surprised myself and surpassed my own expectations"

One of the most pleasant surprises of spring season, Ben Healy, spoke to CyclingWeekly about how people view him differently after 2nd place from Amstel Gold Race, 4th from Liège-Bastogne- Liège and a stage win from Giro d'Italia.

"Most people hadn’t heard of me before Liège-Bastogne- Liège," muses Ben Healy. "And then they were probably saying, 'where’s this guy suddenly come from?¨'"

"I couldn’t really be any happier. I surprised myself and surpassed my own expectations. It felt so good to be able to show what I am capable of against some of the best riders in the world and put in those types of performances."

"I broke my hand in February and my immediate thought was to be ready for the Giro d’Italia, which was always my big goal. I didn’t want to let that opportunity slip by, so I was super-motivated to train properly. I had a week off, saw a proper hand specialist, and then did four weeks on the turbo, riding 20 hours a week. On the turbo it’s super-specific work, you’re always in the perfect zones, doing the right efforts and numbers, so it really benefited me."