Ben Healy equals Stephen Roche in finishing second in Amstel Gold Race

Ben Healy continued what has been a superb season on Sunday, finishing second to world number one Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in the Amstel Gold Race. The 22-year-old has had a breakthrough second season as a professional, winning two races in March, finishing second last weekend in the Brabantse Pijl event and reaching a new level again in Sunday’s prestigious Classic.

He finished 38 seconds behind Pogačar, his second place the joint-best Irish result ever in the race. It equalled Stephen Roche’s runner-up slot from 1982 and bettered Seán Kelly’s third place two years earlier.

“I knew I had good legs, and I knew I had to ride a smart race as well to finish second today,” he said afterwards. “That’s what I did, and it paid off for me in the end.

“I was quietly confident. I rode a very aggressive race at Brabantse and I knew with a few bigger names here I would get the luxury of maybe missing few turns, which is what I did. It played to my advantage in the end.”

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Healy was part of a large breakaway group which moved clear 90 kilometres from the end, and remained prominent when Pogačar thinned things down to 11 riders on the first ascent of the Cauberg climb. The Slovenian surged again on the Eyserbosweg with 36km remaining, whittling things down to three out front. Healy found himself alongside the double Tour de France winner and last year’s Alpe d’Huez Tour stage victor Pidcock.

“It is pretty surreal,” he said. “You are racing with a couple of the best riders in the world. When you are able to follow them, you are like, ‘wow, the legs must be good today.’ Then when I dropped Tom as well, it was a pretty surreal moment.”

Pogačar made his move on the Keutenberg climb with 28.7km to go, beginning a solo run to the line. Healy was initially distanced but rejoined Pidcock and then shed the Briton on the Geulhemmerberg with just over 13km remaining.

He reduced Pogačar’s advantage to just 20 seconds before the time difference went out again. Pogačar was controversially aided by a lead car which was far too close on more than one occasion, giving him a slipstreaming advantage.

Healy will next be in action in Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and then the prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Megan Armitage had a superb performance in the Grand Prix de Chambéry in France on Sunday, finishing fourth in the 1.1-ranked event. She was one minute and seven seconds behind the French winner Victorie Guilman (FDJ-Suez), making participation in July’s Tour de France Femmes all the more likely.

On Saturday, Darren Rafferty also impressed, netting fifth in the under-23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Seth Dunwoody (Cannibal-Victorious U19 Development Team) won stage one of the 2.1-ranked Penn Ar Bed-Pays d’Iroise junior event, with Patrick Casey (Anexo Group Race Team) in sixth.