Ben Healy says it will be hard to match the highs of last year's Tour de France but insists he is up for going all out in pursuit of more stage wins (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski-Cor Vos)
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) certainly hasn't had it all his own way this year, after scaling the heights in 2025. But the EF Education-EasyPost rider says he is ready to race hard in pursuit of a stage win at the Tour de France.
And though he will be more of a marked man - after finishing 10th overall last year, taking victory on stage 6, wearing the yellow jersey and winning the overall combativity award - he says he can still surprise his rivals by the way he races.
"I will just have to race the same way, with an air of unpredictability," he said. “Even if they know how I'm going to race, if it's still unpredictable then it's still hard to predict.
"Even last year people kind of knew who I was and I was still able to do it. So nothing's going to change really — just going to try and rinse and repeat."
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Though he has come back from a forced lay-off due to a bone fracture, before falling ill at his comeback race, Healy said he is very "hopeful" as he goes into the Tour trying to match last year's dream race.
"I've had a spring with some bad luck, but I'm in good shape and ready to race. I'm looking forward to being back racing again and hopefully racing at the front," he said.
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"Last year was a standout year and it would be amazing to replicate it, but even half that success would still be a successful Tour in my eyes.
"There’s not too much pressure. I just want to be up front and in a fight for a stage win, maybe even two. There are a lot of hard transitional stages this year, so I think there'll be plenty of opportunities for breaks.
"Our team is super strong and pretty well balanced. We can go into this Tour with any goal in mind and be adaptable to any situation. We have a lot of experience, a lot of young guys. It's going to be a fun one.
"I have had a good prep. I did an altitude camp, which I was able to do the full block of, and then Dauphiné as a prep race — even though I got sick, I didn't really miss too much and was able to get back into training fairly quickly. And yeah, some heat work in Mallorca. Hopefully that's me ready."
The Tour de France starts in Barcelona on Saturday and Healy goes into it without a win so far this year. He crashed, hitting a spectator, during the TT recon at the start of Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT) in April.
However, he went on to finish that race, going on the attack over the last three stages. But in post-race medical checks he was diagnosed with a non-displaced sacral fracture and missed the Ardennes.
He then returned to action at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (2.UWT) - formerly Critérium du Dauphiné - earlier this month, where he fell ill and was forced out with two stages remaining.
However, one positive to his interrupted season is that he has fewer race miles than expected on the clock at this point of the season, which may keep him fresher for longer on the Tour.
