Ben Healy, a rider with EF Education-EasyPost, has kicked off his fifth season as a World Tour competitor with a modest start in France. While he didn't shine in the finals of the two races, Healy was content with his performance, considering he usually struggles with the initial races each season. His 20th place finish at the Faun-Ardèche Classic (1.Pro) on Saturday, with 3,400m of elevation gain, was a solid showing. The race was won by Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), a young French star who claimed his second victory of the season. Healy was part of a three-man chasing group led by Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), finishing well ahead of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike).
On Sunday, Healy and his compatriots, including Darren Rafferty, were back in action at the 185km Faun Drome Classic (1.Pro). While Healy finished 44th, he was only 1:07 behind the race winner, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United). The young French rider made a decisive final kick to win the race. Healy was part of the chasing group as the climb began, but he didn't feature as the road kicked up. Martinez finished third, some two seconds behind the winner and runner-up.
From an Irish perspective, after Healy, Meehan placed 63rd at 6:07 while Rafferty was 119th at 13:32. Healy usually takes a few race days to work himself into full-on race mode, having finished 103rd and 30th at these two events last year. He then raced the following weekend, at Strade Bianche (1.UWT), and with the cobwebs blown away, placed 4th, starting his incredible 2025 run of success. Healy is set to ride Strade Bianche again next Saturday, while Rafferty will be in action at the one-day Trofeo Laigueglia (1.Pro) in Italy on Wednesday.
