Ben Healy Dominates at Vianden Castle to Claim Victory in Škoda Tour de Luxembourg

Ben Healy of EF Education First emerged victorious in the highly competitive queen stage of the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg. Healy, who put in an impressive performance at the Château de Vianden, finished the third stage 15 seconds ahead of Marc Hirschi from the UAE Team Emirates and 18 seconds ahead of Dylan Teuns from Israel-Premier Tech. This outstanding performance also earned Healy the coveted yellow jersey, making him the overall leader.

The breakaway group for the day included Bastien Tronchon of Lidl-Trek, Jon Izaguirre from Cofidis, Remy Mertz representing Bingoal WB, Gilles de Wilde from Team Flanders-Baloise, and Mats Wenzel of Leopard. As the riders approached the final circuit, which included the challenging Côte du Niklosbierg to be covered three times, many riders in the peloton were dropped, and the breakaway group was eventually caught. Seizing the opportunity, Healy made a daring move with just 18km remaining and managed to maintain his lead until the end.

The stage began with a delay of 40 minutes due to a highway accident that hindered the arrival of all the teams at the starting point in Mertert. As a result, the neutral zone before kilometer 0 was shortened by approximately 8km.

Ben Healy (EF Education First): “I like being at the front because it allows me to ride at my own pace. Behind, we still had Richard Carapaz in reserve. The aim is always to get the best possible result. I wanted to have a gap before tomorrow’s time trial, and I’ve done that. There are only two stages left. I want to keep the yellow jersey.”