‘Too little too late ’- Healy comes up short on Mont Ventoux
And agonising second place on Mont Ventoux wasn't all Ben Healy wanted but it was confirmation his style reaps rewards as the Irishman moves up on the general classification
Ben Healy has had an outstanding Tour de France so far, but came up just short on Tuesday’s epic stage to Mont Ventoux, finishing second behind Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep).
After getting in yet another breakaway on stage 16 between Montpellier and the top of the Bald Mountain, the EF Education-EasyPost rider was once again instrumental in making the race, launching the counterattack which caught the lone leader Enric Mas (Movistar) just after Chalet Reynard. Once on the moonscape of the upper slopes, he and Paret-Preintre traded blows before the closing sprint, where Healy fell agonisingly short.
After a chaotic start, Healy managed to find a place in a 33-man breakaway, and despite not having a teammate, the Irishman remained patient when a smaller group got away.
Only on the final, brutal climb did he show his hand, instigating and being instrumental in keeping a chase group going, then using his sheer racing class to reach the front of the race. Indeed, Healy his only mistake was on that final cruel dig to the line.
“I think I played it really nicely in the break and never really touched the wind once until Ventoux,” Healy told ITV Cycling. “I hit Ventoux, and I wasn’t really sure how my legs were. I took it steady at the bottom and kind of went at a nice pace."
“It’s an hour-long climb and I started to realise I was actually feeling really good today and we definitely could race for the win. I just did a little bit too little too late, I think, because this top section is a bit shallower and the headwind was just too hard to break Valentin today. I tried to get a jump on him in the finish, because I knew he was more explosive than me on a finish like this. I did my best but didn’t quite get him.”
The Tour has been one to remember for Healy. It’s rewarded his aggressive style, and he has taken the opportunities he created, achieving a positive result from each of the three breakaways he has been in so far.
On stage six to Vire Normandie, he attacked his breakaway companions more than 40km from the line, soloing to a maiden Tour de France win. Then, four days later, when the race hit the Massif Central, time gained over the peloton saw him move into the overall leader’s yellow jersey after finishing third at Mont-Dore. And while he would rather have finished one place higher on Mont Ventoux, second isn’t too bad, especially when the result moves Healy up to ninth on GC.
That the team hadn’t targeted the stage is testament to their, and Healy’s, flexibility, adapting plans on the fly.
“We went into the stage thinking it would be more for the heavyweight GC guys,” sports director Tom Southam said. “This morning, late on, we got the feeling that it would be worth Ben being there if the breakaway group was big.
“Obviously, and he slipped into a move really well without making a lot of effort. The race was on and on and on and we didn't know what was going to happen, but he was in the right spot. He did fantastic to stay cool when the other climbers from the group were up the road. He played that very well, waiting patiently. Obviously, he did a fantastic climb. Close to the end, he looked stronger at some points, but that’s not necessarily the winner.”
