\u201cOne of the oddest things we did with Ben in his first year as a pro was we said, \u2018listen, Ben, we don\u2019t know what kind of rider you are yet. So train hard up until the start of the season, but then once the season starts, we want you to just go out and ride your bike for three or four hours a day. Don\u2019t push on the pedals too hard any one given day, because your schedule is not really made up yet.”<\/p>\n
Vaughters used a colourful and unconventional example to underline his point about riders chasing fads and gimmicks from social media: \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018well, I read that Dr Peter Attia said that you have to eat elephant testicles in order to win.\u2019 We\u2019re like, \u2018well, okay, maybe, but maybe we should try it out a little bit more of a basic route first, and then get into\u2026\u2019 Again, going back to the eat your meat and potatoes before you get your dessert argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
That blend of restraint and experimentation suited Healy, and Vaughters praised his willingness to follow guidance rather than chase trends. \u201cFor the most part, most young, 19, 20 year old pros would hate that advice with a passion. But Ben basically said, \u2018yeah, okay, sounds good.\u2019 And he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ben-healy-68d9709f4b37b.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Ben Healy’s bronze at the 2025 Worlds is arguably the biggest feat of his career<\/p>\n
Tactical and marginal gains: video work and subtle training tweaks<\/p>\n
Tipper points to two targeted changes that helped convert Healy\u2019s raw talent into consistent, match-winning performances: smarter timing and a touch more punch in his training. \u201cWe spent time doing video analysis of race footage,\u201d Tipper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that cycling probably doesn\u2019t do the best of jobs of compared to, say, footballers every Monday. They are doing that match video feedback, \u2018were you in the right place at the right time kind of thing?\u2019 whereas cycling doesn\u2019t traditionally do too much of that.”<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we took that as an opportunity of, let\u2019s go and go through the race footage,” he continued. “I pointed out the things he was doing that were good, things that he was doing that weren\u2019t good. He\u2019s done a little bit of work with the sports psychologist as well, in terms of, what is the mental state that\u2019s going on at that point. Why was he becoming a bull to a red cloth and just going wild at times?\u201d<\/p>\n
On the physical side, Tipper added: \u201cThere was a little bit of nuance to his training in respects to maybe being that bit punchier at times when he needs to be, but obviously not too much so, because it\u2019s difficult to do that and also expect to try and keep up on the Hautacam. What God gives you on one hand he takes away with another.”<\/p>\n
\u201cSo while he\u2019s done a little bit of punchy stuff, it was more from a technical perspective, making sure he gets it all out on the bike, rather than a case let\u2019s hit the gym hard and try and get bulky. Because obviously that then takes away from what you need in the mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plan going forward: same style, higher targets<\/p>\n
Healy\u2019s recent trajectory shows how frustration can sharpen a rider. A strong 2023 was followed by a quiet and disappointing 2024 for a rider of his quality. However, he turned the tables in 2025 and managed to find his best version once again. He also got great results in the GC of some races, notably the Tour de France and the Tour de Luxembourg.<\/p>\n
However, Healy is not planning to trade his attacking instincts for a conservative GC bid. \u201cI think at this moment, the approach will always be the same for me,\u201d Healy said. \u201cHaving some time to reflect now, the way that I ended up in GC at the end of this Tour is, I think, the perfect way for me. And it\u2019s the way that I find most enjoyable. I think that would only ever change if I really believed I could fight for a podium.<\/p>\n
Healy also added a clear marker of ambition after finishing 2:16 behind Pogacar at the Worlds, showing gold medal is what he wants to achieve at some point. \u201cI still have a couple of minutes to make up somewhere. I am going to have to go away and work hard for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 25, Healy\u2019s age is an asset. Tipper acknowledged the open-ended nature of endurance development: \u201cWe\u2019ll just continue pushing the right direction and see what happens. You never know, you keep pulling the levers and hoping for the right results. You\u2019re making the best educated decisions that you can by being aspirational, having these goals and aims,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBut as a toe-to-toe result with the best riders in the world, with everybody being there, it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-226234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}