Healy and EF Education celebrate near-perfect first week with yellow jersey: "I’ve achieved both now, it's unreal"

Speaking to NOS, it is clear that Healy is still struggling to find the words. “It's just unbelievable, I can't really believe it yet,” he says. The all-rounder came to the Tour to win stages, which he did in Vire Normandie. To grab the yellow jersey not long after is the icing on the cake. “How many riders have had the chance to wear the yellow jersey? But now I've achieved both, which is unreal.”

It wasn't easy, due to the pressure from UAE Team Emirates - XRG in the peloton. “We just had to see how the stage unfolded and how UAE would ride. It was really up to them. They rode a very different race than they normally would, and we took full advantage of that. We had four men in the breakaway, and when the gap started to grow, we started to feel optimistic. Then we gave it our all.”

At Eurosport, the day's number three talked more about his fantastic coup. “It was such a tough ride. I'm a bit emotionless at the moment because I'm so tired. But I still can't believe it. If someone had told me that I would win a stage and be in yellow before the first rest day, I wouldn't have believed it.” After Jasper Philipsen, Mathieu van der Poel, and Pogacar, Healy is the fourth yellow jersey wearer of this Tour de France.

He couldn't have done it without his team, who were very active in the breakaway. “Without them, I wouldn't be in yellow right now. I really have to thank the guys. Harry Sweeney is a real truck, and Alex Baudin really made a huge effort. They could have gone for a stage win themselves on other days.” In the final, however, he had to do it himself: the other breakaway riders battled for the stage win. “I knew they would go for the stage, so I knew I had to stay focused and just keep riding.”

Sports director Andreas Klier was ecstatic after his team secured the yellow jersey. “I've lost my voice; the last 2 kilometers were very loud in our car,” said the German after the finish. "But man, I'm elated. We didn't expect it. We wanted to fight for another stage win, and we'll continue to do so. But no one said this morning, "Let's go for yellow."

The fact that it was a real team effort makes it even better. “The team has been perfect for 10 days now. We haven't always had the chance to show it, but now there was an opportunity to show how good everyone was. The yellow jersey, how cool is that?” After Seamus Elliott, Stephen Roche, and the legendary Sean Kelly, Healy is the fourth Irishman ever to wear the yellow jersey. “Sean Kelly is my favorite rider ever. I still have one of his jerseys in my closet; he's the best rider ever. And now it's Ben! That's awesome.”