EF Education-EasyPost had no big ambitions coming into the 2025 Tour de France. But thanks to Ben Healy, they have become one of the main protagonists of the Tour. For team manager Jonathan Vaughters, the race in fact couldn’t have really been any better than what his team have achieved.
“We had to say, ‘Ok, we’re not going to have a GC guy, so we’re just racing every day,'” Vaughters recalled. “The guys really took that to heart and made the most of it. For me, this Tour was probably the most fun race that we have had.”
Winning a stage, that was already a mission completed for Vaighters’ team who came with that exact goal into the Tour. “From there on out, everyone could race in a more relaxed manner,” Vaughters said. “We were like, ‘Okay, so what are we going to do next?'”
But Healy was unleashed and in stage 10, he jumped into the race lead and spent the first rest day in maillot jaune. “Carrying the yellow jersey is the most important thing you can do in cycling. Even if it is just for one or two days, it is still a career-defining moment.”
Suddenly, the Irishman was in center of everyone’s attention. And rightfully so as he continued to excite with his race style and eventually landed in a 9th spot overall. “Ben went from being a really exciting rider to Ben the superstar. All of a sudden, Ben’s dog was a superstar. It all came together for a few days – and it showed what cycling can be.”
Vaughters would not change anything about that Tour. “If someone said to me, ‘I’ll trade you Ben having the race he had for a super conservative ride that gets him fifth on GC instead of ninth, but without Ventoux, without the stage win, without the yellow jersey,’ I’m not taking that trade. That’s a bad trade.”
For him, it was a perfect race.