Ben Healy becomes first Irish yellow jersey since 1987 Tour de France
The EF Education-EasyPost rider's sparkling Tour de France continues. After winning in Vire last week, Healy has now ridden himself into the yellow jersey on stage 10 to Le Mont-Dore.
Ben Healy has become the first Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France since Stephen Roche won the race in 1987 and rode onto the Champs-Élysées in the maillot jaune.
Healy was part of the early break on stage 10 to Mont-Dore, and the EF Education-EasyPost man did enough to divest Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) of the yellow jersey. In the finale, Healy did all the work at the head of the remnants of the break, mindful that each pedal stroke was bringing him closer to the overall lead.
He was distanced by Simon Yates' stage-winning attack at the foot of the final climb, but he came home third on the stage, 31 seconds down. Pogacar made a vicious acceleration from the yellow jersey group behind, but he couldn't come close enough to save the yellow jersey, which passes to Healy by 29 seconds.
Three Irish riders have worn the yellow jersey before Healy. The great pioneer of Irish cycling, Shay Elliott, was the first, taking yellow in 1963 after winning into Roubaix. In those days, the stage winner was serenaded with his national anthem on the podium, but an Irish winner was such a novelty that the unprepared band played ‘God Save the Queen’ rather than Amhrán na bhFiann.
Elliott wore the jersey for three days, and he later helped his Saint-Raphaël teammate Jacques Anquetil to overall victory.
Sean Kelly was the second Irish yellow jersey in 1983. He took yellow at the foot of the Pyrenees in Pau, but he suffered on the first mountain stage and lost the lead to Pascal Simon. Kelly finished that Tour in eighth overall and in the green jersey of points classification winner.
Roche’s spell in yellow came during his victorious Tour of 1987. He first took the jersey at Villard-de-Lans only to lose it to Pedro Delgado on Alpe d’Huez the next day.
The Dubliner would take the jersey back from Delgado in the Dijon time trial on the final weekend to seal the second leg of his Giro-Tour-Worlds Triple Crown.
