10th place Ben Healy rues a missed opportunity at the World Championship road race: 'Maybe I should've waited'

The elite men's World Championship road race was won by USA's Brandon McNulty on Sunday. But at one point, a group of determined chasers were within about 10 seconds of the lone American attacker. The group were unable to work together, and McNulty was able to extend his lead to the finish line. 10th place on the day, Ireland's Ben Healy, spoke about that missed oppportunity after the race.

When asked about how close his group of chasers came to McNulty on the last lap the Irish climber could only sigh. "I just gave it everything today. You know, I really wanted to anticipate and try to get ahead and I think I had better legs than I even thought myself today. So, maybe I should have waited, but I left it all out on the road. I'm still pretty proud of the race I did today," Healy said.

After a characteristically attacking day, Healy bridged across to the front group when it mattered, and despite repeated accelerations, he managed to hang on until the final sprint, ultimately coming 10th.

Knowing that he was in a group with the likes of Pedersen, Van der Poel and Matthews, Healy wasn't prepared to wait for a sprint. The Irish rider attacked again before the finish, without success.

With a much more mountainous route planned for next year's World Championships in France, this result should give Healy plenty of confidence ahead of 2027.