Ben Healy put on a show at the Giro d'Italia on Saturday, blowing the opposition out of the water to take his first ever stage win on a Grand Tour.
The Irishman's victory wasn't in doubt from when he made a burst for the lead in the closing stages of stage eight on the Giro d'Italia.
Just 22 years old, it is a huge moment in the young career of Healy, who became the youngest Irish stage winner on a Grand Tour since Sean Kelly at the 1978 Tour de France.
The fans who lined the roads of stage eight were ecstatic as Ben Healy took on the final climb of the day, on the biggest day of his career so far.
Giro d'Italia: Irishman Ben Healy takes famous win on stage eight
Stage eight saw the field take on a challenging route from Terni to Fossombrone, with three steep climbs to close out the 207km route.
As the field approached the closing climbs, Irishman Ben Healy made a sharp move to the front of the field, taking the lead with 50km to go. He ultimately pulled out a huge gap to the chasing pack in a sensational close to stage eight.
With Healy on his own out front, there was time for the crowd to appreciate his first ever stage win on one of cycling's Grand Tours, with Healy met with raucous cheers from the spectators roadside on the final climb.
The crowd cheers Ben Healy on as the Irishman completes the final climb of Stage 8! 😍@EFprocycling | #giroditalia 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/2jcsuYM6MD
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 13, 2023
Ben Healy went on to win the stage in a time of 4 hours and 44 minutes, almost two minutes ahead of the rest of the pack.
Healy is the sixth Irishman to win a stage on the Giro d'Italia - and is the youngest of that group.
"Irish cycling has a brand new star!" ⭐️
What a moment for Ben Healy at the Giro d'Italia ☘️pic.twitter.com/4xLOk4ahsD— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) May 13, 2023
Speaking to Eurosport post-race, Healy explained why he had made such an unexpectedly early move for the lead, and summed up what the victory meant to him:
If you can go solo, it's always better! In big groups like this, group dynamics can play a big role in the finish. I backed myself for a long move and I didn't want to take any chances today. I backed myself to go solo and I had good legs and it was nice to hold it to the finish.
The first climb, I knew I had good legs. I gave it a bit of a go and no one came with me, so it was a good day.
These past couple of months have been an absolute whirlwind. To top it off with this is insane.
Healy was one of the favourites going in to stage eight but nobody saw the annihilation of the Giro field coming. Eurosport's pundits joked that Healy could have won the race in an even easier manner, while lavishing the Irishman with superlatives for his phenomenal pace.
A famous day for Irish cycling, and a memorable one for Ben Healy. He has a big future ahead of him.
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