Giro d’Italia: Ben Healy lands solo stage win while Evenepoel loses time

The Irishman Ben Healy achieve a solo victory on stage eight of the Giro d’Italia to claim a first Grand Tour stage win on his debut, as an attack from Primoz Roglic found signs of weakness in the overall favourite, Remco Evenepoel, and the race leader, Andreas Leknessund.

The 22-year-old Healy delivered on the huge promise he showed during the Classics campaign as he powered away from 12 breakaway companions to take on the final 50km of the 207km stage from Terni to Fossombrone alone, winning by almost two minutes from Derek Gee.

It was another two and a half minutes until the first of the overall favourites crossed the line, but notably Roglic, Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart were 14 seconds ahead of Evenepoel and 34 ahead of Leknessund after Roglic had attacked on the final climb of the Cappuccini.

That was the short but sharp climb on which Healy made his move on the first of two ascents, quickly opening up a sizable gap as his fellow escapees soon realised they would be fighting for second.

After Friday’s stalemate on the Gran Sasso, this stage was built for a breakaway and delivered an attacking opening 70km as several riders tried to get up the road, including at one stage Leknessund in the pink jersey. Healy, a rider raised in the West Midlands and who switched allegiance to Ireland in 2016, comfortably proved the strongest of the 13 that made it.

The EF Education-EasyPost rider announced his talents last month in the Ardennes with back-to-back seconds at De Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race and fourth place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but this victory is on another level.

“If you can go solo, it’s always better,” Healy said. “I back myself in a long move. I didn’t want to take any chances today so I