Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) has said he had picked out today's stage in the Tour de France as the first one he would properly target to win and felt "amazing" to pull off the big plan at the first time of asking.
Though he had already won big races before today, including a stage victory at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, Healy said even riding the Tour was a boyhood dream and he was overwhelmed to take such a major win at the race.
"I grew up watching the Tour and wishing that maybe one day I could be there," he said. "So to even be here is an achievement and to win a stage it's so amazing."
He added today's 201km course to Vire Normandie, with repeated small climbs and almost 3,000 metres of climbing, suited him down to the ground.
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"This was a stage I circled in the book from the start and to do it on the first one is really amazing," he said of making the breakaway and being away for 156km, with the final 43km solo to won by almost two minutes from Quinn Simmons (Lidl Trek), the best of the others in the break with him today.
"It's just unbelievable. It's really what I've worked for – not just this year, but the whole time. It's really, really incredible… just hours and hours of hard work from so many people. To pay them back today is really, really amazing.
"Last year was a real eye-opener and really made me believe that I could (win a stage). I just knuckled down and did the hard work and tried to refine my racing style as well, lots of racing footage watched. And it really paid off today I think.
"I just switched on from the start. Maybe I spent a a bit too much to try and get in the break, but that's just the way I do it. And then once we were in there, we really had to work for that gap and it was just on the pedals all day."
"I knew I needed to get away from the group and pick my moment. And I think I timed it well and hopefully caught them by surprise a little bit. But I knew what I had to do: just head down and do my best ride to the finish.
"The way I look at it, it's really a game of mental honesty, I try to push on the climbs, easy on the descent, and then this really seems to just draw out that elastic and lulls them into this false sense of security I guess. That's how I'm able to really tear out the gap.
"It didn't necessarily need to be the first move, but it was 100 percent deliberate to try and catch them by surprise. It was a very, very strong group of riders, and I don't believe in just attacking away purely by legs.
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"I was just waiting for a moment to catch some speed, and surprise, and that moment came with about 40k to go on a twisty road – it was just perfect, perfect timing."
He also said he carefully planned everything for today as he knew he wanted a really serious effort to try and win.
"Today, I had full TT tyres, a waxed chain, TT skinsuit, road-ish helmet, and just maximised everything," he explained.
Healy's win was the first by an Irish rider since Sam Bennett's victory in for QuickStep in Paris in 2020 and five-time Tour stage winner, Sean Kelly, said he was delighted for Healy and for Irish cycling.
"Majorly proud. He goes all day, gets into the breakaway, goes from a long way out and gets his stage win. That's the type of rider he is," said Kelly, who is commentating on the Tour of TNT Sports.
"It's been a long time since Sam Bennett won the last one for Ireland, and to win this stage, against the company he was in this breakaway - major victory."
Tom Southam, Healy's sports director, said the Irish riders win today was typical of how he raced; pulling of such daring breakaway moves it was nerve-wracking when looking on from the team car.
"It keeps you on the edge, and you never want to believe until it's done, even when you get to two minutes. A finish like that, you just don't want something to go wrong.
"He is the one who marks the book with an 'X' and says this stage. He oversees it, he knows, he's been talking about this stage since the winter," said Southam.
"He's a very studious rider with a lot of his material, approach to the racing, equipment, and knowing what course will suit him and where he will go, knowing his abilities.
"The credit goes to the rider every single time, because it's him who does it, and him who has the idea and believes in it from the very start 100 percent."
Southam added he was considering in the team car how Healy could take the yellow jersey. "Then I spoke to the other DSs and they told me to 'shut the fuck up and win the stage', so first one thing, then comes the other."
