Ben Healy in real contention for medal at World Champs | Video

Ben Healy is up the road, in the final four, in the road race at the UCI World Road Championships in Rwanda (Photo: Jan de Meuleneir-Cor Vos)

Ben Healy is currently putting in one of the best rides of his career in the road race at the UCI World Road Championships in Kigali, Rwanda. The Team Ireland rider has made the three-man chase group pursuing lone leader, and defending champion, Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia).

Pogačar has again gone long, just as he did in Switzerland last year. He attacked with 100km remaining of the 267.5km race, with 5,400m of climbing.

This time the Tour de France champion had company, but those riders were unable to hold him; Mexico's Isaac del Toro staying with him for the longest but eventually unable to follow the wheel.

And though a large chase group formed behind Pogačar, at about one minute for most of the time, it has been whittled right down as Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) has upped the ante several times. And Ben Healy has gone with it every time.

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The group eventually came down to five riders, though Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and Jai Hindley (Australia) were dropped with about 45km to go.

And that left just a three-man group chasing Pogačar, comprised of Evenepoel, Ireland's Healy and Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark); Healy and Skjelmose having gone on the attack in a two-man move last year in a bid to take a medal.

With 35km to go, Pogačar had 1:01 on the three chasers, with Pidcock and Hindley having lost huge time when they were dropped. The fight for the medals looks to be between Pogačar - who may well have the gold medal already wrapped up - and Healy, Evenepoel and Skjelmose.

The course is so demanding only 30 riders remained in the race at the time of writing. Healy was aided earlier in the event by his Team Ireland team mates Ryan Mullen, Darren Rafferty, Rory Townsend and Eddie Dunbar.

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UPDATE: Now with 25km to go, the gap is 1:18 but Healy is still among the three chasers with just under two laps to go, just 9km before the final lap starts.

So Healy just has to stay where he is and beat one of the riders he is with to win Ireland's first medal at an senior road Worlds since Sean Kelly won bronze in Chambéry in 1989 - easier said than done, of course!

Update 20km to go: Evenepoel attacks and goes solo after Pogačar. So that leaves Healy and Skjelmose still together and looking set for a two-up fight for bronze through the last lap.

Update 12km to go: No change - Pogačar still leads solo by 1:25 from Evenepoel. And then it's Healy and Skjelmose fighting for bronze at 1:57.

Update 5km to go: Ben Healy has dropped Skjelmose!! With one climb to go, it looks like Ben Healy has the bronze medal in his grasp.

Finish: Pog wins from Evenepoel and Healy takes bronze - Healy comes over the lone waving to the crowd, absolutely thrilled with himself, bloody dynamite!

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