Healy takes 3rd at Tour de Luxembourg, Ryan has strong finale | Video

Ben Healy was back in his Irish champion's kit on the final stage today at Skoda Tour de Luxembourg (Photo: Anouk Flesch)

Ben Healy has taken the second general classification podium of his breakthrough 2023 season, ending Tour de Luxembourg 3rd overall after an all-action final stage into Luxembourg city today. The EF Education-EasyPost rider took a dominant win on stage 3 - with a trademark long-range attack nobody could control.

While that also saw him move into the race lead, in yesterday's TT he perhaps paid for digging so deep, for so long, just 24 hours earlier. He lost the yellow jersey in the TT to Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates). However, Healy still comes out of this race with a general classification podium finish and a stage win, clearly having returned to top form for a second time this year after a long block of top tier performances in the first half of the season.

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On today's final stage - on a grippy course which was up and down and split the race to pieces - Archie Ryan (Jumbo Visma) was one again active in the final and finished ahead of the remains of the peloton after he went on the attack.

With about 8km to on today's stage, a group of 15 riders got clear of the peloton and most of those survived out front to fight for stage honours. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), who won Tour de l'Avenir two years ago, claimed the stage victory today after attacking in the final 2km when the road kicked up.

He swept into the finish line solo to win by eight seconds from Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team), who led in nine riders all on the same time, with a number of others from the breakaway just seconds further back. Ireland's Ryan finished between the front of the bunch and the last of the breakaway men; claiming 16th on the stage, 19 seconds down on the stage winner and three seconds up on the reduced peloton.

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Ben Healy was in that bunch - along with race leader Hirschi and 2nd placed on GC this morning, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates). And as those top three overall were all on the same time today, there was no change in their order. Hirschi claimed overall victory by three seconds from McNulty with Healy 3rd at five seconds.

Ryan, who was on the wrong side of splits on the opening couple of stages - before placing 6th on Friday's queen stage - placed 29th overall at 2:33. He was riding for the Jumbo Visma World Tour team in this race, his first time stepping up from the development squad this year as his season was wiped out by injury. He only started his first race last month, though his level was very high immediately, confirmed by a stage win at Tour de l'Avenir.

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