BEN HEALY today became just the fourth Irish man ever to claim the Tour de France yellow jersey after a Bastille Day break paid off.
The 24-year-old masterminded a winning attack that led to Englishman Simon Yates winning the hilly stage into Le Mont-Dore.
But crucially for Healy, he gained enough time to overtake Tadej Pogacar and claim the famous ‘malliot jaune’ as the overall leader after ten stages.
Healy won the stage into Vire Normandie on Thursday that put him 11th in the overall rankings just under four minutes behind Pogacar.
But he was in a lead group all day and was officially the yellow jersey on the road with 73 kilometres to go.
And he made a decisive move in the final 20 kilometres when he drove a small break of six riders clear.
He ultimately finished third. But crucially was over four minutes ahead of Pogacar that saw him go top of the overall rankings and now has a 29 second cushion.
In doing so, Healy became the first Irish man to wear yellow since Stephen Roche won the Tour de France in 1987.
He also became a member of an exclusive four-man club, with him, Roche, Seán Kelly and Shay Elliott the only Irish men to hold the ‘malliot jaune.’
He came third in the day’s stage[/caption]
