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Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) is set to start his 2025 campaign later than he has in recent seasons and will also plot his way towards his now familiar Ardennes Classics targets with several races he hasn’t tackled before.
Though many riders have been in action in Australia, the Middle East and in Europe for over a month now, Healy will not pin on numbers until next weekend. The details of his season, up to the end of April, have now been confirmed by stickybottle.
Next weekend will take on a brace of French one-day races, the 165.9km Faun-Ardèche Classic (1.Pro) and the 189km Faun Drome Classic (1.Pro). He has ridden neither race before and will have compatriot Archie Ryan in the same line-up.
Healy will then move on to his first major one-day race of the year, lining out at Strade Bianche (1.UWT) on March 8th. It will be his third appearance in the event, having enjoyed his best performance last year, with 12th.
There then follows Healy’s first stage race of the season, Tirreno-Adriatico (2.UWT), from March 10th to 16th, where he was very aggressive last year, especially on the final two stages.
Healy will turn his attentions to Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT), from April 7th to 12th, where he is likely to face a field including some of the top general classification riders in the world. Healy has not ridden the race before and it should offer a very useful final tune-up towards the Ardennes.
This year he will skip Brabantse Pijl, where he was 2nd two years ago, before going on to Amstel Gold Race (1.UWT) on April 20th, La Flèche Wallonne (1.UWT) on April 23rd and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.UWT) on April 27th.
Healy did not quite fire the way he hoped for at the Ardennes last year – his best was 27th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.UWT). But was 2nd in Amstel Gold and 4th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège the previous year and those will be the kind of results he will be chasing this time around.
The 24-year-old is now entering his fourth season as a World Tour rider, with this year and next still to run on his contract with EF Education-EasyPost, his second deal with the US-registered team.
He has already taken seven wins so far as a World Tour rider, including a stage of Giro d’Italia in 2023, and has carved out a name for himself as an aggressive rider willing to go on the attack.
Healy was among the riders who lit up the Olympics and Worlds last year with his aggression, as well as going on the offensive repeatedly on Tour France debut.
And though those rides did not deliver a medal, or a stage win, the same approach this season, accompanied by a bit of luck every rider needs, Healy has a very strong chance of hitting new heights in the months ahead.
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Ben Healy is plotting a new path to the Ardennes, with racing across Europe and new events he hasn’t tackled before (Photo: Jan de Meuleneir-PN-Cor Vos)
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) is set to start his 2025 campaign later than he has in recent seasons and will also plot his way towards his now familiar Ardennes Classics targets with several races he hasn’t tackled before.
Though many riders have been in action in Australia, the Middle East and in Europe for over a month now, Healy will not pin on numbers until next weekend. The details of his season, up to the end of April, have now been confirmed by stickybottle.
Next weekend will take on a brace of French one-day races, the 165.9km Faun-Ardèche Classic (1.Pro) and the 189km Faun Drome Classic (1.Pro). He has ridden neither race before and will have compatriot Archie Ryan in the same line-up.
Healy will then move on to his first major one-day race of the year, lining out at Strade Bianche (1.UWT) on March 8th. It will be his third appearance in the event, having enjoyed his best performance last year, with 12th.
There then follows Healy’s first stage race of the season, Tirreno-Adriatico (2.UWT), from March 10th to 16th, where he was very aggressive last year, especially on the final two stages.
Healy will turn his attentions to Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT), from April 7th to 12th, where he is likely to face a field including some of the top general classification riders in the world. Healy has not ridden the race before and it should offer a very useful final tune-up towards the Ardennes.
This year he will skip Brabantse Pijl, where he was 2nd two years ago, before going on to Amstel Gold Race (1.UWT) on April 20th, La Flèche Wallonne (1.UWT) on April 23rd and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.UWT) on April 27th.
Healy did not quite fire the way he hoped for at the Ardennes last year – his best was 27th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.UWT). But was 2nd in Amstel Gold and 4th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège the previous year and those will be the kind of results he will be chasing this time around.
The 24-year-old is now entering his fourth season as a World Tour rider, with this year and next still to run on his contract with EF Education-EasyPost, his second deal with the US-registered team.
He has already taken seven wins so far as a World Tour rider, including a stage of Giro d’Italia in 2023, and has carved out a name for himself as an aggressive rider willing to go on the attack.
Healy was among the riders who lit up the Olympics and Worlds last year with his aggression, as well as going on the offensive repeatedly on Tour France debut.
And though those rides did not deliver a medal, or a stage win, the same approach this season, accompanied by a bit of luck every rider needs, Healy has a very strong chance of hitting new heights in the months ahead.
