When defending champion and three-time winner Tadej Pogacar hit the tarmac in the final 4km of today’s stage of the Tour de France, he was just outside the buffer zone earmarked by the race organisers as the place where time gaps would not be taken into consideration after a crash or mechanical problem on a flat finish.

New overall leader Ireland's Ben Healy celebrates on the podium after the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers. Pic: AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy. Ben Healy made history on Monday as he became the first Irishman in 38 years to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.

Healy has always shown his Tour promise. In 2020, he won the last stage of the Ronde de l’Isard in France, considered one of the top under-23 races in the world, the same day as Bennett won the last stage of the Tour de France. In 2019, Healy was also the youngest ever winner of a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir.