Ben Healy of EF Education-EasyPost on the attack on stage 10 yesterday at the Tour de France, when it looked for a while like he was back in business, until the move was mowed down (Photo: Thomas Maheux)
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) made the large breakaway on stage 10 at the Tour de France yesterday and it looked like a return to business as usual for the Irishman. But they were caught and Healy eventually came home in 42nd almost 22 minutes down. This time last year he was leading the race, and had won a stage, though Tour 2026 has been marked by time losses.
He has spoken of how the expectations of him are now higher, and the scrutiny deeper after the success of last year. And he has also opened up about the impact the extreme heat has had on him on this Tour, and precisely how the soaring temperatures have been impacting his body.
"You're heart rate starts to go crazy high," he said of the heat, which has been unusual, even for France in July. "To be honest, you just don't recover from that.
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"At least what I experience is I've got one or two really good efforts in me and from there I just really start to drop off super quickly.
"And until I give myself time to cool down, or have a quick breather, then I really don't come back from that. That's pretty hard to do in a race, especially when there's a big fight (for the breakaway) going on.
"And often that leads to me not being in that fight any more. And I think it's pretty similar for other guys. You've got to be super careful with your effort because you've only got a few big deep ones that you can do before you blow up."
Healy said it was clear the riders in his team - including Alex Baudin who held the climbers' jersey - were in good form and he remains very optimistic (Photo: Thomas Maheux)
In general, he said when it is very, very hot, the conditions exaggerate the gaps, even between the handful of riders who are out front in the battle for the general classification.
But Healy added the atmosphere in the team was "really positive" and it was clear the riders had some very good form.
Alex Baudin was 4th on stage 9 and has led the climbers' classification. Sean Quinn is 15th overall and Richard Carapaz was one of the strongest in the final yesterday, attacking off the front of the front group before race leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) steam rolled everyone to win again.
But while the heat has taken Healy's edge away for now, he remains confident the team will win on this race. He reiterated his and the team's goal to get a rider in every breakaway that makes it all the way.
And he feels once they can do that "it's only a matter of time before one of us puts our hands the air". There are plenty of chances for him remaining, with hilly stages that can really suit his attacking style.
He added he was also "praying" that the temperatures would come down as he believed that was forecast towards the end of the week.
This time last year Healy was in yellow and had won a stage, but the heat has taken its toll on him over the past 10 days, with the Irishman now "praying" for cooler conditions (Photo: Xavier Pereyron)
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"It's a bit of a tricky situation for me," he said of the very hot temperatures so far on this Tour. "It's something I've always been aware of and we've done everything we can be prepared for the heat.
"The cooling strategy is beneficial for everyone, so it's not just really specific to me as, normally, the cooler you are, the better you're going to be; whether it's me or someone else."
However, while he had worked hard to adjust, the heat is "such a big Achilles heel for me".
"I'm just not 100 per cent sharp at the moment, and in the Tour de France you have to be that and I think that just shows in days like we've had.
"For sure, the form's there, I just can't perform to my best when it's these conditions," he added of the blistering heat, with temperatures over 30C.
He said it was imperative any rider who wanted to join the fight for the breakaway on Tour starts, with a view to going all the way, had to have the legs.
And he has found, as many of the stages have started in such hot conditions, he has not had the legs.
"I’m definitely riding better than I ever have in the heat," he added, but it was "so hot and intense, you can’t be missing any sort of percentage."
Some really good stages to come
Healy's team mate, Michael Valgren agreed, telling the Domestique podcast while may riders were really cooked in the heat over the past 10 stages, Healy was nowhere near as bad, even if the soaring temperatures had undermined his performance.
He also conceded that having won a stage last year, and led the race for two days, the expectations were higher this year and the scrutiny closer.
"I just want to take it day-by-day and that’s what I have been doing," he said. "I’ve been enjoying the moments I can and getting stuck in as well.
"This first week has been pretty quiet, not too many opportunities for me. People have been asking 'where’s Ben? What’s he doing? I’m going to show up at some point. I’m sure my day is coming."
He was very Healy an anticipated drop in temperatures would come to pass and really help him.
"Even just a five degree difference can make a difference for me," he said. "I’m in the right place to perform.
"There are some really good stages for me coming up. I’m going to be there for sure. The body in the right place to fight for a stage win."
