Matt Maher: Ben Healy ready to prove he can take the heat at Tour de France
Should Ben Healy realise his dream of winning a stage in this year’s Tour de France, a disposable boiler suit and the tumble dryer at his parent’s home will have played a small part.
The 23-year-old is already poised to make history as the first cyclist from the Black Country since Hugh Porter in 1968 to compete in the world’s biggest bike race.
Being on the start line in Florence tomorrow was Healy’s primary aim of the summer, his third at the top level of professional cycling, written down during an end of year review with bosses at his EF team following a breakthrough 2023 campaign.
Yet in order to seal his place in the final squad, he had to prove one thing: Could he, quite literally, handle the heat of a three-week race which takes place in the hottest month of the year?
“Being a lad from the Midlands, Ben doesn’t often get to ride his bike in 30C heat,” explains dad Bryan. “That was the one question mark.
“Last winter, he went over to Loughborough University to do some testing and a big focus from then has been on heat training, just to prove he can do it.”
That prompted some unusual scenes when Wordsley-raised Healy, who now lives in Girona, Spain, returned home for Christmas.
“He got hold of one of those disposable boiler suits you can buy at places like B&Q,” said Bryan. “He was up in the utility room with his bike on the rollers wearing it, with the tumble dryer on to try and get the temperature as high as possible. It is crazy stuff like that.”
The first half of the year has seen more heat training, admittedly by more traditional means. Healy’s most recent session saw him spend a week in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain.
