Ben Healy has come a long way since being dropped by GB Olympic Academy and declaring for Ireland, which he said taught him resilience and opened up opportunities (Photo: Thomas Maheux)
Ben Healy has enjoyed a trajectory that most riders can only dream of – solid junior results landing him at Team Wiggins Le Co, then Trinity Racing, followed by wins at Tour de l’Avenir (2.Ncup), Ronde de l’Isard (2.2U) and Giro d’Italia Next Gen (2.2), before turning pro with EF Education EasyPost.
Since then, among his many highlights have been stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, where he also held the yellow jersey. But Healy has now spoken of a leaner time, when he was a member of the GB Olympic Academy only to be dropped, forcing a change in his career.
That was during his junior days, but he bounced back quickly as he found himself in need of a new coach, who he found and still trains under today.
Similar to Dan Martin, Healy has been completely open, saying his being dropped by GB resulted in declaring for Ireland, via grandparents from Cork and Waterford.
But at the very start, his dad, Bryan, got him into mountain biking, and very quickly he was up and running.
“I started racing on a mountain bike and absolutely loved it. But I always knew I wanted to be a road rider rather than a mountain biker,” he said.
Ben Healy winning his first big one; back in 2019 becoming the youngest ever rider to win a stage at Tour de l’Avenir
Healy continued: “So I was on the GB Olympic Academy, full mountain bike program, and I got let go after a couple of years. They never really gave me a reason, and I hadn’t done anything wrong as far as I could tell.
“But honestly, it was probably the biggest blessing in disguise. It was the trigger for me to reach out to Jacob Tipper who became my coach — that was around 2016, so nearly 10 years ago now.
“He’s still my coach today and now works for the team. That was a huge turning point. It also pushed me to reach out to road teams.
“That transition happened in a weirdly fortunate way. A friend I raced with at Solihull Cycling Club ended up going to a Zappi junior team and I ended up there too.”
Ben Healy taking his first pro win in Europe, at Coppi e Bartali (2.1), in 2023 ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo and Mark Padun
Healy continued: “I had no clue about the team. They sent me a calendar in February and it had international races on it.
“I didn’t even know that was coming. It was a shock — for me, for my parents, logistically and financially. But one thing led to another, and I started to realise I could compete abroad.
“That mindset carried over into the under-23 years. I just started sending my CV to anyone and everyone who would take it, trying to take my own fate into my own hands. That got me a ride at Wiggins.
“And somewhere in the middle of all of that — between getting dropped by GB and everything else happening — I declared for Ireland. That was another step that really put my career on the trajectory it’s on.
“It got me into actual junior road races, exposure, and eventually onto the UCI team for L’Avenir, which was the first real breakthrough moment. Those are the things that got me here today.”
And though he has already enjoyed considerable success, and wants more, he said he was determined to take in his cycling experiences and enjoy them.
“If I retire tomorrow, I’m pretty satisfied with my career. As long as I’m enjoying it, I’ll continue. You see it in so many sports: people get to the top and then ask, what more is there?
“That’s because they’ve always been chasing the next thing. I don’t want to be that person. I want to be present in what I’m doing and enjoy it to the maximum, not just constantly looking for the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. That can become a slippery slope.”