Ben Healy has new EF Education-EasyPost kit for his Grand Tour debut at this Giro d'Italia. And now he has a new pair of cycling shoes to match. However, unlike his Rapha-made clothing, his new shoes are one of a kind.
They've been created by Shea Gribbon - also known as The Shoe Dr - an Irish footwear artist who has really turned heads with some fantastic work in recent years. He previously did an Irish champion's pair of shoes for Healy as well as shoes for Harry Tanfield, then of AG2R La Mondiale, at the 2020 Vuelta. Luka Mezgec also sported a Gribbon design for the 2021 Tour de France.
Gribbon's latest Giro 2023 shoes for Healy match his pink, yellow, white and black kit for the race as well as incorporating the Irish Tricolour. We haven't seen them yet on TV, but they are pretty special (as the photos below reveal) so we're sure they'll get a special mention at some point.
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"The colours are from EF-Rapha's new one-off kit, which is made from excess waste material," Gribbon told stickybottle. "With six colours, it can be messy, but I found the best way was in a geometric pattern. As the initiative was to reduce wastage, I hand-mixed each of the colors instead of buying new paint."
Gribbon continued: "Ben wanted the Irish Tricolor incorporated into the design as well, so I found the best way to do that without things getting messy was to create a burning away effect, revealing the Tricolor below the geometric pattern. I used a similar effect on the first shoes I made for Ben, when he was the Irish road champ, so it was nice to link the shoes together.
"As it's Ben's first Grand Tour, I have a little note on the inside of the strap with the start and finish dates. And on the inside of each shoe, I added a gold shamrock as he is the current Irish national time trial champion."
Gribbon first met Healy at the Europeans four years ago and told him earlier this year if he wanted a pair of shoes for either a Grand Tour or the Worlds to let him know. Once his Giro selection was confirmed, Derry-based Gribbon got cracking and we think the results are spectacular.
