Black Country cycling hero Ben Healy aiming to 'rinse and repeat' at the Tour de France

Black Country cycling hero Ben Healy has declared himself ready to fight for more glory at the Tour de France.

Healy will once more carry the hopes of the region when the latest edition of the world’s biggest bike race begins in Barcelona on Saturday.

The 25-year-old from Wordsley is aiming to follow a superb 2025, which saw him make history as the first rider from the region to win a stage and wear the leader’s yellow jersey on route to a ninth-placed finish overall.

Healy has experienced frustration with injury and illness so far this season, racing in only one event since a fractured coccyx forced him out of the spring Ardennes classics.

But the former Halesowen Cycling Club ace believes he is getting back toward his best just in time for the Tour.

“I’ve had some bad luck, but I’m in good shape and ready to race,” explained Healy. “I’m looking forward to being back racing again, and hopefully racing at the front.

“Last year was a standout year, and it would be amazing to replicate it. But even half that success would still be a successful Tour in my eyes. There’s not too much pressure, I just want to be up front and in a fight for a stage win, maybe even two.

“There are a lot of hard transitional stages this year, so I think there’ll be plenty of opportunities for breaks. I’m hopeful.”

Healy’s success during a 2025 season in which he also won bronze at the world championship sent his stock soaring.

During a short film produced by his team EF Pro Cycling and released this week, dad Bryan revealed how his new-found fame had prompted arguments locally over where precisely he is from, with residents of both Kingswinford and Wordsley eager to claim him.

“His mum had to point out Ben was actually born in Derby,” he quipped.

More crucially, Healy can no longer be considered an unknown quantity among his rivals, yet the former Summerhill school student has no concerns about now being a “marked man”.

This year’s Tour begins with a team time trial around Barcelona, before two rolling stages which should suit Healy’s aggressive, punchy style.

“I will just have to race the same way, with an air of unpredictability,” he said. “Even if they know how I’m going to race, if it’s still unpredictable then it’s still hard to predict.

“Even last year people kind of knew who I was and I was still able to do it. So nothing’s going to change really - I’m just going to try and rinse and repeat.”