Want to know how the best riders in the world train? For each article in this long-running MY WEEK IN TRAINING series from Cycling Weekly's print edition, we sit down with a pro rider who talks us through a recent week of training in granular detail. This time it's the turn of Ben Healy...
"Most people hadn’t heard of me before Liège-Bastogne- Liège,” muses Ben Healy, “and then they were probably saying, ‘where’s this guy suddenly come from?’” Truth is, EF Education-EasyPost’s star performer of this Classics season had been showing great promise for a number of years, with notable results including a stage win at the Tour de l’Avenir as long ago as 2019. Cycling is certainly aware of the 22-year-old’s talents now, given a string of breakthrough performances this spring, placing second at both De Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold, and just being pipped to a podium spot at Liège. Those results are the culmination of the steady progress Healy has been making over the past five years. Here, the Irishman – who was born in the West Midlands – talks us through the week in which he confirmed his status as one of cycling’s most promising young stars.
Your verdict on the Ardennes?
I couldn’t really be any happier. I surprised myself and surpassed my own expectations. It felt so good to be able to show what I am capable of against some of the best riders in the world and put in those types of performances.
How did you train for this Classics season?
I broke my hand [in February] and my immediate thought was to be ready for the Giro d’Italia, which was always my big goal. I didn’t want to let that opportunity slip by, so I was super-motivated to train properly. I had a week off, saw a proper hand specialist, and then did four weeks on the turbo, riding 20 hours a week. On the turbo it’s super-specific work, you’re always in the perfect zones, doing the right efforts and numbers, so it really benefited me.
What did you learn as a neo-pro in 2022?
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Nutrition was a big thing – really learning what’s good and bad. For the first time, I tracked my intake and it made a massive difference. Also, I learned that you don’t need to go above and beyond: each session is set for a reason. Previously I found it hard to hit one-day races exactly as needed, but last year I refined my race preparation. I’ve found a formula that works so that I feel ready to race how I want.
Rider profile: Ben Healy
Age: 22
Height: 5ft 8in
FTP: Not supplied
Lives: Girona, Spain
Hometown: Kingswinford, West Midlands
Rides for: EF Education-EasyPost
Best results: 1st – Stage 8, Giro d'Italia (2023); 1st – GP Industria & Artigianato (2023); 2nd – Amstel Gold (2023); 2nd – Brabantse Pijl (2023)
I’ll be working on behalf of Hugh [Carthy] who is in super form, but I also want to win a stage. Maybe I’ve made it harder for myself in the past few weeks, as people now know me and can mark me from a break, but you never know how a race will pan out. A few top-10s in the time trials would be super-awesome, too. [Healy's run of success continued: he won Stage 8 and finished second on Stage 15.]
The week: Facts and figures
When: 17-23 April, 2023
Where: Belgian Ardennes
Training for: Ardennes Classics
Total riding: 19hr 35min
Z3+ effort: 4hr 30min
Monday: Recovery ride – 1hr
The day after Amstel and I woke feeling pretty f***ed – I was just dead! I’d just put in one of my best ever performances and was a bit starstruck, thinking ‘What have I just done?’ With the team, we had an easy one-hour spin to the cafe in the rain. I was in the little ring the whole ride, not even thinking about how I was riding. If you take a day off, it sends the body into full-on recovery mode, so I prefer to spin the legs just a little bit.
Tuesday: Easy ride – 2hr
I did have some efforts planned for this mostly Zone 1 ride, but my legs were pretty heavy so after one effort, I called off the others. I didn’t want to push it the day before La Flèche Wallonne and hurt my legs more than I needed to. Some guys on the team do other exercises like core work on days between races, but I don’t have any such routines – and don’t feel like I need one.
Wednesday: Race: La Flèche Wallonne – 4hr 35min
As I’m not the most punchy rider and therefore didn’t back myself [to be competitive] up the Mur de Huy, I went into Flèche working for Esteban Chaves and Neilson Powless, but as the race went on I realised my legs felt amazing. There’s a big fight for position at the bottom of the Huy, but I screwed it up. If I was in a good position, I could have scored a good result, but it wasn’t to be [Healy finished 32nd]. It gave me confidence towards Liège though
Thursday: Recovery ride – 1hr
The exact same one-hour spin to the same cafe as we did on Monday. Very easy riding. When we got back to the hotel, I had a massage from the soigneur. Massages are not something I feel like I really need, but when you’re in a hotel bubble and have nothing else to do, it’s good to have a routine. A massage is an hour of peace with my phone turned off.
Friday: Recon ride – 3hr 20min
We did a recon of the final 100km of Liège, making mental notes of the course. Last year I went way too hard during the recon and fatigued my legs, so this time I knew I needed to take it easy. Some of my teammates did efforts on the climbs, but I let them go, catching them on the descents. I was just focused on keeping on top of the power, not going hard at all, and sitting in Zone 2 for three hours.
Saturday: Sharpening session – 1hr 40min
This was the session I had planned before Flèche but didn’t complete – a cafe ride with efforts: first, there was a 10 minute tempo effort, and then five minutes relatively hard at between 400 and 420 watts. I then did a few minutes between 500 and 600 watts, and one full-gas 10-second sprint. Having the extra day’s rest to be able to do the recon was really helpful.
Sunday: Race: Liège-Bastogne-Liège – 6hr 20min
Liège was completely different to last year, with Soudal-Quick Step setting a hard pace from the start. By La Redoute, there were a lot of ‘dead bodies’. When Remco Evenepoel attacked, I had good legs but struggled to deal with an initial change in pace. We never saw Remco again, but I backed myself to drop the other guys on the climbs, knowing I couldn’t take anyone to the line. In the end, I panicked in the sprint, messed it up a bit [Healy finished fourth], but I could never have imagined saying that two weeks before – it was not what I had been expecting.
