IRELAND’S BEN HEALY has finished sixth in the road cycling men’s individual time trial at the European Championships in Munich.
The 2022 national champion clocked a time of 28:01.56 after a superb performance which saw him initially lead the race and then remain in the medal positions for some time.
In the end the 21-year-old, who is in his first year as a professional, was just over 47 seconds off a bronze medal.
It was a tight Switzerland one-two as Stefan Bissegger won in 27:05.96 while Stefan Kung took silver in 27:06.49. Italy’s Filippo Ganna was home third, clocking a time of 27:14.00.
“I set out with a pretty hard pace to try and medal today,” Healy told Cycling Ireland. ”I didn’t quite have the legs for that but held on until the end and still put in a really good performance and a really nice result, so I’m super happy.
“I came here with medals in mind potentially, that’s what I was going for today. I’ve come away with sixth still, a really respectful performance.
“It was pretty awesome, on an elite time trial, sitting in the number one seat for as long as I did. You kind of had the idea that the faster guys go at the end, and are gonna knock you off, but still, it’s super nice to be up there.”
Here’s the man himself 🙌
— Cycling Ireland (@CyclingIreland) August 17, 2022
What a performance! #Munich2022 pic.twitter.com/TDfwXdZH9W
Asked whether he ever felt he could be at this stage a few years back, the Kingswinford-born cyclist admitted:
“Maybe not. I’ve always enjoyed the time trial, and I’d always like to think I’ve been quite competitive. This for sure is my best result at TT, and I’ll be coming back to these events in the future hoping to be on that top step.”
Earlier, Kelly Murphy finished in 15th place in the women’s individual time trial while Joanna Patterson came home in 17th place.
Murphy clocked a finishing time of 33:25.84 with Patterson coming in behind her on 33:32.56.