Who is Ben Healy? Career, victories, results and Tour de France breakthrough

Ben Healy is an Irish professional cyclist who races for EF Education - EasyPost and is one of the peloton's most prominent attacking riders. A stage winner at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, yellow jersey wearer at the Tour de France and bronze medalist at the 2025 World Championships, Healy has also finished on the podium at the Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. His long-distance attacks and performances across the Classics and Grand Tours have established him as one of Ireland's leading cyclists.

Ben Healy was born in Kingswinford, near Birmingham, and grew up in the West Midlands, but represents Ireland through his grandparents from County Cork. He initially developed as a mountain biker and was part of British Cycling's Olympic development programme before turning his attention to road racing. He joined Zappi's Racing Team as a junior and in 2018 became Irish junior time trial champion, finished second in the national junior road race and won a stage at the SPIE Internationale Junioren Driedaagse.

In 2019 Healy joined Team Wiggins Le Col and made his breakthrough at the Tour de l'Avenir, winning stage 5 to become the youngest stage winner in the race's history at just 18 years old. He also finished second in the Irish under-23 time trial championship and 15th in the under-23 time trial at the World Championships. He moved to Trinity Racing in 2020, where despite the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting the calendar, he became Irish elite road race champion, won the national under-23 time trial title and took a stage victory at the Ronde de l'Isard.

Healy remained with Trinity in 2021 and continued progressing at under-23 level. He won the final stage of the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23, also known as the Baby Giro, alongside second and third-place stage finishes. His performances over the previous three seasons attracted the attention of EF Education - EasyPost, who signed him to step up to the WorldTour in 2022.

His first season with EF was largely spent adapting to the highest level of professional racing. Healy secured his first victory in the team's colours at the Irish national time trial championship, beating his nearest rival by approximately a minute and a half, and also finished third in the national road race. Although international victories were not yet forthcoming, he gained valuable experience across the World Tour calendar.

In 2023 Healy emerged as one of the strongest attacking riders in the peloton. He started the season with third place at Trofeo Calvia before winning a stage and finishing third overall at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. He then won the GP Industria & Artigianato before producing an impressive Ardennes Classics campaign, finishing second at Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race, behind Tadej Pogacar in the latter, and fourth at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

He made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia that May and won stage 8 into Fossombrone after attacking from the breakaway with around 50 kilometers remaining. Healy finished almost two minutes ahead of his nearest rivals and continued to feature in breakaways throughout the race, eventually taking third in the mountains classification and 55th overall. He reclaimed the Irish national road race title in June before winning another stage at the Tour de Luxembourg in September, where he also finished third in the general classification.

In 2024 Healy finished fourth overall at both the Etoile de Besseges and Volta ao Algarve early in the season, but couldn't replicate his podium performances from the previous year's Ardennes Classics. He returned to winning ways in June with victory on the final stage of the Tour of Slovenia, finishing seventh overall, before making his Tour de France debut. There he finished ninth on stage 7 and fifth on the gravel stage around Troyes two days later, eventually completing the race in 27th place overall.

Healy then represented Ireland at the Paris Olympic Games, where he was active in the decisive moves of the men's road race before finishing tenth. He continued his international success at the World Championships in Zurich, taking seventh place in the elite men's road race to complete a season in which he had shown his ability to compete in some of cycling's biggest one-day events.

The 2025 season was the strongest of Healy's career. He began with fourth place at Strade Bianche before winning stage 5 of Itzulia Basque Country with another long-distance solo attack. He also finished inside the top ten at the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallonne before securing third place at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, his first podium at one of cycling's five Monuments.

At the Tour de France, Healy claimed the biggest victory of his career on stage 6 into Vire Normandie, attacking alone from the breakaway with more than 40 kilometres remaining and finishing two minutes and 44 seconds ahead of the chasing riders. Four days later he joined another breakaway on stage 10 to Le Mont-Dore, gaining enough time to take the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar and becoming the first Irish rider since Stephen Roche in 1987 to lead the Tour. He held the jersey for two days before losing it on the mountain stage to Hautacam.

Healy remained competitive in the mountains and came close to a second stage victory on Mont Ventoux, where he finished second to Valentin Paret-Peintre. He eventually finished ninth overall in Paris, his first Grand Tour top ten, and won the overall combativity award for his repeated attacking performances. He then finished sixth overall at the Tour de Luxembourg before travelling to Rwanda for the World Championships.

In Kigali, Healy produced another major performance on the demanding World Championship course, finishing third behind Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel after dropping Mattias Skjelmose in the closing kilometres. It was Ireland's first medal in the elite men's road race at the World Championships since Sean Kelly in 1989 and completed a season in which Healy had won a Tour de France stage, worn yellow, finished on a Monument podium and established himself among the leading one-day racers in the world.

Healy entered 2026 having extended his contract with EF Education - EasyPost until the end of 2029. He started the season with 12th place at Strade Bianche and eighth overall at Tirreno-Adriatico, but his spring was disrupted by a crash while reconnoitering the opening time trial at Itzulia Basque Country. Although he completed the race, subsequent examinations revealed a fractured sacrum, ruling him out of the Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

He returned to racing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes in June but abandoned due to illness, leaving him short of his best form ahead of the Tour de France. Unlike the previous year, Healy was unable to contest a stage victory or a high general classification position, eventually finishing 59th overall. He then finished eighth at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal before returning to the same city for the World Championships, where he placed tenth as Brandon McNulty took the rainbow jersey.

Healy completed his 2026 season with sixth place at the Giro dell'Emilia, 12th at Il Lombardia and second at the Japan Cup in October. Although he ended the year without a victory after an injury-disrupted campaign, he remained one of EF Education - EasyPost's leading riders heading towards 2027.