Ben Healy is back in the peloton and raring to go.

After a couple of early-season races in France, our Irish breakaway artist got his season going in a big way at Strade Bianche, where he gritted his way to fourth across the Tuscan gravel. At Tirreno-Adriatico, he took the fight to the pack over and over again, attacking up the final climb on stage three and then again on stage four, where he launched with four kilometers to go and only got caught in the finishing chute. On the mountaintop finish of stage six, he crossed the line in eighth place.

Ben will now race the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain and Itzulia Basque Country, where he will go for stage wins and try to ride a good GC, as he builds his form for the races he loves most, the Ardennes classics: Amstel Gold Race, followed by Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Ben has gone for a slower start this year, so he can be just that little bit faster up climbs like the Cauberg, Mur de Huy, and La Redoute. He wants to turn his great results from past years – second at Amstel, fourth at Liège – into wins. To do that, he will have to be fresh.

“I am going for a more targeted approach towards the Ardennes this year,” Ben says. “ I’ve gone for less racing early in the season, because last year it felt like I was just losing a battle against fatigue by the time I got around to the Ardennes. I don’t want to say I wasn't at a good level. I just wasn't at my best and the dream is to win Liège. It’s the biggest of them and the grand finale to the classics season.”

Ben will be one of our sqad’s captains this spring. That is a role that he is learning to embrace. Still just 24 years old, he is honored to ride alongside superstars like Richard Carapaz and Rui Costa. Following them through the peloton and having them take huge pulls for him gives Ben great motivation.

“I’m quite proud of it,” Ben says. “At Tirreno, we were down to a small team and I had an Olympic champion as well as an ex-world champion tuned in to really try and get me to the best place. That is just a privilege and something that I can only appreciate.”

Ben knows deep down that he has the talent to win races of the same calibre that Rui and Richie have won. That fuels his ambition. He already has a Giro stage to his name and has finished on the podiums of major classics, like Amstel and Brabantse Pijl, but his aim – and it is a realistic one – is to win Monuments. Ben also wants to become a stage racer. Itzulia Basque Country suits him, with its punchy climbs, and often wet weather.

“I think that the next step in my career is to start targeting GC more,” Ben says. “I'm not sure how far I can go with that yet, but this is definitely the start of that.”

Big goals like Ben’s often come with big expectations, but Ben says he doesn’t feel any extra weight on his shoulders right now. He just wants to fly in the finales of the great races this spring.

“I wouldn’t say I feel any pressure”, he says, “just the pressure that I put on myself naturally. I enjoy it and continue to enjoy it whether I'm racing at the front or helping teammates. I just want to do well in bike races. Going up a climb like, La Redoute, just looking at that big steep wall in front of you with screaming legs and screaming crowds is awesome.”

It is. And if all goes to plan, we’re going to get to watch Ben Healy rocket up them this spring.

Tirreno-Adriatico

Gran Premio Miguel Indurain

Itzulia Basque Country

Amstel Gold Race

Flèche Wallonne

Liège-Bastogne-Liège