Racing
EF Pro Cycling lights up Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Ben Healy races onto the podium; Cédrine Kerbaol attacks to fourth
April 28, 2025
Ben Healy and Cédrine Kerbaol lit up the finales of Liège-Bastogne-Liège this weekend.
Ben finished third in the 133-year-old Ardennaise Monument. Cédrine came in fourth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes after a huge solo attack in the closing moments of the race.
In the men’s race, a great effort from his EF Education-EasyPost teammates brought Ben across the hills of Wallonie to the foot of La Redoute at the front of the peloton. Over the summit of the iconic climb, he took off in pursuit of the lone winner and held off the chasing peloton all the way to Liège, where he secured his podium spot. Neilson Powless followed him across the finish line in tenth place.
Cédrine Kerbaol came over the top of La Redoute with the best riders in the race, waited for her moment, and went. Our French attacker was solo until the final kilometers when a group of three caught her. In the sprint, Cédrine finished fourth.
Their rides cap off an excellent spring classics season for EF Pro Cycling. Read our team’s thoughts from the finish of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Ben Healy
This is what I have worked for all winter. I really had my eyes set on this race. The podium was the goal. Had I been able to win, it would have been great, but I’m super happy to finish off some great teamwork. Our plan was to pace ourselves up La Redoute, but then some other favorites attacked and we just raced full gas from then on. I was a different rider two years ago, when I came fourth. I’m now smarter than I was then, as I got more race experience. I’m definitely progressing every year.
Neilson Powless
I feel very satisfied. We got an exceptional result. It wasn't the win we wanted, but we landed one on the podium, two in the top 10. I am really proud of the way the whole team rode. We were fully committed to trying to land Ben as high up the leaderboard as possible. He showed in the last few races how good he was and he deserved to be the leader. We were really happy to commit to him, and he executed. He scored well for us in the end, so we are really happy with that.
Behind, Alex Baudin and myself tried to disrupt the chase and jump on everything that went and just keep it really disorganized and that worked out perfectly. I think anyone else in our situation would've done the same.
We are super happy with the way we rode as a team. It was a really nice result and beautiful day in Liège. Two in the top 10, one on the podium in a Monument is exceptional, so we're happy.
Tom Southam, EF Education-EasyPost sports director
We’re feeling pretty good right now. I'm really happy with the podium. Not everything ever goes exactly to plan. We know that, but everybody committed what they could, when they could, and things changed, and people did more of this and less of that, and some did some other things, but in the end, it got us into the right place in the race. Ben had the legs. He knew he had the legs, and he got the result. Ten seconds more, and they would have been caught, so it was all or nothing. And it worked out.
Cédrine Kerbaol
Today, we wanted to go for the win and, in the race, we did nearly everything how we had imagined it. It didn’t work this time, but the team showed again how we ride aggressively and as one. After keeping in position all together in the front for the first 50 kilometers, with Nina and Henri covering every attack, we arrived to the first climbs. The pace was already fast. Kristen went with a lot of attacks and tried to create her own ones, continuing to pace the climbs to make it much more selective, which was great to get away from the other big teams’ helpers. I went to the top of La Redoute in second position and was ready to attack in the next climb to get ahead for La Roche aux Faucons. In the end, I only got to follow, as some other girls also had the same idea. We were four, and only Van der Breggen was really collaborating with me. We made it to the bottom of the climb with approximately 20 seconds, which permitted me to pass the first part of La Roche aux Faucons at my own pace. The groups of favorites overtook me and started looking at each other in the flat part of Roche aux Faucons. I attacked and tried to go solo, but the group organized and came back before the downhill. I tried a new attack in the downhill but it didn’t worked out. Then, I messed up my sprint. Still today was very motivating for the coming races with this super squad.
Kristen Faulkner
It was hard, but I rode really well today. I was well towards the front for all of the major points and covered a lot of attacks and was really there for the team in the ways I needed to be. And then, I struggled on La Redoute.
I just couldn't go with the accelerations on the really steep stuff. At that point, my race was pretty much done. I do think I won my sprint, which I am working on. We’re on an upwards trajectory. I am racing really well.
Daniel Foder, EF Education-Oatly sports director
Cédrine created the race. In the finale, she showed the courage, like we had talked about, to go for the win. And that is what she did in a beautiful way. She did not win in the end, but she really did a really, really beautiful race. She should be really proud of that.
We had Nina come in as a reserve and for her it was about working in the first third of the race and positioning before we got into the climbs. She did well. By halfway in, we were a little bit low on riders. But Kristen made the front group, and they did a really good job. They positioned themselves for La Redoute and Cédrine attacked shortly after, as we had planned. She was aggressive. It was really good.
