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Irish Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Post
Ben Healy claims the yellow at the Tour de France
IRISH cyclist Ben Healy wrote a new chapter in Tour de France history on Monday, storming into the yellow jersey with a daring solo effort through the Massif Central on Stage 10. The 24-year-old EF Education–EasyPost rider crossed the line in third place atop Le Mont-Dore, earning enough time to leapfrog into the overall race lead by 29 seconds. 'I think that's it,' Healy said at the summit. 'It's a fairytale… beyond belief.' Healy's move was launched from a 29-rider breakaway that formed early in the 165 km stage from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore, with support from teammates Harry Sweeny, Alex Baudin, and Neilson Powless. Facing seven categorised climbs, Healy displayed trademark endurance, powering alone on the final slopes of the Puy de Sancy. Although Britain's Simon Yates took the stage win, the day belonged to Healy. His gritty performance made him only the fourth Irish rider ever to wear the Tour's iconic maillot jaune, joining Shay Elliott (1963), Seán Kelly (1983), and Stephen Roche (1987). 'It means a lot to wear this jersey. As an Irishman, I'll try to do it some justice,' Healy said, visibly emotional. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters hailed the moment as the product of tactical precision and emotional grit. 'It was tense,' he admitted. 'But Ben believed, and the team rode with their hearts.' Healy now leads defending champion Tadej Pogačar by 29 seconds heading into the Tour's second week. Up next is the much flatter Stage 11 among the Pyrenees mountains. See More: Ben Healy, Cycling, Tour De France
Irish Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Post
Ben Healy claims first Tour de France stage win
IRELAND'S Ben Healy lit up Stage 6 of the Tour de France with a spectacular solo attack, taking his first career stage win in cycling's biggest race and delivering Ireland's first Tour victory since 2020. The 24-year-old EF Education–EasyPost rider launched his move with 42 km remaining on the 201.5 km stage from Bayeux to Vire Normandie, powering away from a strong eight-man breakaway that included Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, Giro d'Italia winner Simon Yates, and fellow Irishman Eddie Dunbar. 'I knew what I had to do—just head down and ride my best to the finish,' Healy said at the line. 'This was a stage I had circled from the start. It's what I've worked toward, not just this year, but the whole time, really. Hours and hours of hard work from so many people—it's really amazing to pay them back today.' Healy, known for his aggressive style and success in breakaways, quickly built a commanding gap. Despite an attempted overtake by Americans Quinn Simmons and Michael Storer, the Irishman extended his lead and crossed the line 2 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of Simmons, with Storer third. Van der Poel eventually finished eighth, nearly four minutes back. 'It's just unbelievable, really,' Healy said. 'To do it in the first stage I really targeted is amazing.' The win propels Healy up the general classification from 33rd to 8th, making him a rider to watch in the coming stages. Dunbar also impressed, finishing fourth after spending the entire day in the break and moving to 29th overall. The stage also brought a shift in the yellow jersey. Van der Poel reclaimed the overall lead by a single second from reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, who had taken yellow in the previous day's time trial. 'The first two hours were super hard, incredibly fast,' Pogacar said. 'We decided not to spend the bullets today, so we rode our pace.' Healy's triumph adds his name to an elite list of Irish riders to win a Tour de France stage, alongside Shay Elliott, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley, Dan Martin, and Sam Bennett. It also follows his breakout solo victory at the 2023 Giro d'Italia. See More: Ben Healy, Cycling, Tour De France
The 42
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Frantic start to Tour de France is marred by series of falls
THERE WERE MIXED fortunes for the thousands of Belgian fans who poured over the border for the opening stage of the Tour de France as Jasper Philipsen won, but star rider Remco Evenepoel lost valuable time. Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish at the northern city of Lille, while double Olympic champion Evenepoel was trapped in a second group and lost 39 seconds. Race favourites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack on a day marred by a series of falls. Ireland's Ben Healy, riding for EF Education – EasyPost, was 39 seconds off in 64th place. Team Jayco AlUla's Eddie Dunbar was making his Tour debut and was back in 154th. Even defending champion Pogacar appeared flustered at the finish line. 'It was as frantic as we had expected, but when the split came fortunately I was near the front,' said the 26-year-old Slovenian. 'I'm just happy day one is done. Nine days to go before the first rest day.' Africa's sole rider Biniam Girmay, winner of three stages in 2024, was second on the day as Philipsen got ahead of him with 100m to go. Advertisement But Girmay, winner of the 2024 best sprinter's green jersey, ended the stage with the white jersey for the best 25 and under rider. Philipsen, however, was the man in yellow. 'It's a day I will never forget. This is why I have been getting up early and training hard each day,' said Philipsen after notching up a 10th career stage win on the Tour. His Alpecin team, marshalled by Mathieu van der Poel, formed an old-school sprint train that the winner hailed. 'What an experience! Those final kilometres, to be part of that,' beamed Philipsen. - Caught napping - Billed as the third man here after finishing behind Pogacar and Vingegaard on his debut Tour in 2024, Evenepoel was in sombre mood at his team bus. 'We were asleep, we thought any danger was over,' Evenepoel said of the split where both he and his team's sprinter Tim Merlier found themselves trapped just 20km from the finish. Around 40 riders in the first group contested the sprint where one of the day's many falls happened. Primoz Roglic and Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull, and Team UAE's Joao Almeida were also caught out in the blustery winds. Another UAE man, Adam Yates, lost minutes, meaning Pogacar's two deputies are off the pace is something happens to the UAE star man. Fans packed the route in one of France's more modest regions passing First World War memorials, red-brick houses and slagheaps from long-closed coal mines along the Belgian border. Under overcast skies with the temperature a manageable 22C, the peloton cut a fast pace despite the windy conditions, but no rain fell until the riders had passed the finish line. Racing towards an intermediate sprint over cobbles, escapee Benjamin Thomas slid sideways and took out his sole rival Matteo Vercher in one spectacular fall and the pair were still bickering when the peloton shot past them. Former time-trial world champion Filippo Ganna was one rider who will take no further part after a clumsy fall on a corner. The Italian would have been a contender on the lengthy stage 5 individual time-trial, as well as key in the Ineos team's campaign to get veteran Geraint Thomas into the top 10 on his 14th and final Tour de France. Philipsen, in yellow, will lead the peloton out for Sunday's second stage, a hilly 209km route to the beaches of Boulogne-sur-mer. – © AFP 2025
