Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) rode a great Olympic Games road race after an impressive ride in the Tour de France and now the Irish rider is firmly back at it for his final phase of the season.
With a victory already in the bag this year, at Tour of Slovenia, and 10th at the Olympics, the 24-year-old will be gunning to add another victory to his palmares before the 2024 season is complete.
He also has the not-so-small matter of the UCI World Championships in Zurich to ride, where he is capable of a medal on a good day. And his approach to that will be ramped up this weekend.
Healy has made the trip to Canada for the two end of season one-day World Tour races there; Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
Advertisement
The races, later today and on Sunday respectively, are both over 200km and, with a very competitive field, they are ideal for riders aiming to do a ride at the Worlds at the end of the month.
Related News
Healy took a break after the Olympic Games on August 3rd but was back in action in the last week at GP Industria & Artigianato (1.Pro) in Italy; a race he won last year and finished 22nd in this time around.
While he was further down the result, he was still among the front runners deep into the 200km race; a promising showing in his first event back in the peloton.
Today's race in Canada is a wearing down process, over 15 laps with a climb each lap, and features total elevation gain of 2,500m. It is definitely a race that could suit Healy, especially if it is raced hard from several laps out.
However, Québec may also come down to a sprint from a reduced group - such as last year when Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) triumphed - in which case Healy is unlikely to feature at the pointy end on the line.
However, Sunday's race in Montréal is better suited to the Irishman, which 4,000m of elevation gain. That race normally splits, with the climbers or 'climbing classics men' coming to the fore and that sounds like a good opportunity for Healy.
