Ben Healy ready to drop the plane for his first Tour de France

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Ben Healy in painter’s overalls?

No, the Irishman did not take a small job to supplement his annual income.

Instead, the 22-year-old breakaway specialist donned the tinker’s uniform to prepare for his first Tour de France.

The last few months have been spent honing his form for the world’s biggest race. He won a stage of the Giro last year, but that was in Italy in May, not France in July.

It’s going to be hotter and harder and so, in addition to the altitude camps, he’s training in a way that might seem quite strange.

“For me, the focus was on thermal work, because it’s something I particularly suffer from,” the runner told EF Education-EasyPost Bike Friday.

“And yes, it went very well. I’ve seen some really good improvements, so hopefully the hot baths, hot turbos and all that has paid off.

The benefits of thermal training are becoming increasingly evident in professional cycling, as recently demonstrated Bikes Jim Cotton.

For Healy, overcoming this personal Achilles heel conjures up a bizarre image.

“It’s pretty grim, actually,” he said of his own process. “I’m in a sort of laundry room with a heater on. I have a painter’s suit that I wear, and I roll around and I get my body temperature to 39 degrees, about that mark. And then I keep it there for about an hour. »

It may sound strange, but if it works, all the better for the next three weeks.

Tackling the biggest names

If Healy is in top form, he should have a big impact on the progress of the Tour.

He is more of a stage chaser than a general classification rider, at least at this stage of his career, but he has impressed against riders like Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) in last year’s classics.

He finished second behind Pogačar in the Amstel Gold Race and then fourth behind Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

It’s quite an illustrious undertaking for a first-year professional. He then confirmed his talent with a stage win in his very first grand tour, the 2023 Giro d’Italia.

Things haven’t gone as well in this year’s classics, but a recent victory in Healy’s signature style gladdened the hearts of his supporters and raised expectations for the Tour.

He started the Tour of Slovenia and rode solidly throughout the Tour before really finding his rhythm on the final day. A succession of attacks on the hilly terrain gradually exhausted his rivals, with eventual victory coup de grace administered three kilometers from the finish.

Exhausted, the other riders could do nothing against this final surge and, wrapped in his characteristic aerodynamics, he rushed to his first victory of the season.

“Slovenia was a good race and a good preparation for me,” he said. “It’s a race that really suits my qualities. That’s one of the reasons why I went there in the end. »

“It was of course a good thing to get a win this year before the Tour. It gave me confidence for the future.

“It allows you to be positive and know that the work has done its job. And that I am going in the right direction as we approach this Tour.

It’s important for his team. Rather than declare a big tilt in the general classification with Richard Carapaz, EF Education-EasyPost has adopted what is primarily a stage-hunting approach to this year’s race.

Healy plays an important role in this goal and, as team boss Jonathan Vaughters has said more than once, he is a very impressive runner when he is in full flight.

“I would like to try to win a stage. As a team we came here to try to do that,” he said. “So I have the freedom to choose a few stages that suit me and hopefully I can give my all on those days.

“I think these few days of opening are really good for me, actually. But it’s certain that there’s going to be a pretty crazy battle for the yellow jersey.

It would be a dream to shine from the start. He also sees opportunities towards the end of the second week, with a few stages that should suit him. And there will inevitably be more along the way.

What is certain is that it will ride aggressively. And that, in turn, will be good for the drama side of the race.

“The first challenge is to get into the breakaway. There will be a few days where we’ll see how it goes at the start. And if we can do that, then I hope I can get into a breakaway that suits me,” he explained.

“If I can win a stage it will be fantastic. It is the objective. »

First impressions of the greatest show on earth

A total of 45 riders will make their Tour debut this year. These include Evenepoel, one of the four big favourites, as well as UAE Team Emirates duo Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso.

Healy also lives The large loop for the first time and is impressed by what he has seen so far.

“What everyone talks about is the Tour, and it’s bigger than anything else,” he said. “I think it’s hard to get a feel for it until you’re actually there.

“From the presentation, the media and all the staff present, it’s sure that it’s much bigger than the other races. During the presentation, thousands of people were waiting for us.

He was impressed by the Giro but is seduced by the Tour.

“The Tour is really hard to describe, except that there is this feeling, this atmosphere. It is broadcast all over the world.

“Everyone knows what the Tour is. I think that makes it even bigger. »

And now that he’s seen it, he wants to make the most of it.

In total, 21 stages await him and even if some of them will not suit him, there will be no shortage of opportunities along the way.

He’s in an ambitious frame of mind and ready to get started.

“I feel pretty positive,” he said. “All the work has been done.

“I was just waiting for the Tour and, yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

In that sense, he and we are exactly on the same wavelength.

The painter’s overalls have been swapped for his team’s neon pink, and he’s ready to turn up the heat in the race.