Ben Healy wins stage three of the Tour of Luxembourg

Our Irish champion won today’s third stage of the Tour of Luxembourg with another long-range solo. He now has five victories to his name in 2023.

When Ben wins, he does it in style. After today’s ride, he will trade his Irish champs jersey for the race’s yellow leader’s shirt.

Today’s win was classic Ben Healy win. By the time he rode onto the final cobbled climb and through the castle walls to the finish in Vianden, no other rider was in the picture. Ben first broke away with 33-kilometers left in the rain-soaked stage. The course traversed the Grand Duchy’s western border, climbing the Montee De Munshausen on its way north from Mertert, before arriving on a tough finishing circuit for three laps over the Montee De Niklosbierg where he made his initial move. Ben crossed from the peloton to the last holdout from the day’s breakaway. With 18-kilometers left he rode away from him on the course's steepest cobbled slopes. Once Ben was away, no one was going to catch him. He tucked in his elbows, dropped his back flat, and rode alone to the finish like the breakaway artist he is.

After his huge solo wins at the Giro d’Italia and Irish champs, Ben knew exactly how hard to push to stay away. Besides, he had nothing to lose, knowing that his teammate Richard Carapaz was waiting to pounce out of the peloton if he was caught.

“We had two cards to play with me and Richard,” Ben said after he had pulled on his yellow jersey. “Going long for me is my strength and we could use Richard behind if I got caught back. I just had the legs today to make it stick and Richard didn’t have to do anything.”

The torrent of rain belting down from the sky did not daunt Ben.

“I don’t think anyone will ever admit to liking these stages,” he said. “The rain’s never nice to ride in, but for sure I perform well in the rain. It doesn’t slow me down.

It sure doesn’t. Tomorrow, Ben will aim to defend his GC lead in a rolling 23.9-km time trial around Pétange. It will be a big test to see if he can hold onto the yellow jersey right to the finish. At the moment, his lead stands at 19 seconds.

Ben is excited to go for the overall victory.

“Now, it’s all about trying to hold on to this jersey,” he says. “I’m pretty confident in my TT and now I have a nice buffer going into tomorrow. We have a strong team to look after the jersey if I keep it tomorrow for the last stage as well, so I’m pretty confident.”

Get ready for an exciting weekend of racing in Luxembourg!