WORDSLEY cyclist Ben Healy is swapping the Black Country for the Basque Country as he looks to continue his road race development.

Summerhill School pupil Healy, 16, who is a former member of Halesowen Athletics and Cycling Club, will travel to Spain to take his place in the Junior Tour of the Basque County next month.

He will ride for the Zappis team at the event from July 2 to July 5 following a brilliant season as a first year junior.

The tour will cap a remarkable change of focus for the teenager after being dropped from the British Olympic mountain bike development squad.

The decision meant Healy has turned his full attention to the road race scene - a move that is quickly paying dividends, especially after he enlisted the help of Stourbridge pro Jacob Tipper.

Victory in the Halesowen Road Race and the under-18 Shrewsbury Cycle Grand Prix in May have been highlights of a fine season so far.

"I didn't expect it to go as well as it has but I'm really pleased," said Healy. "I always preferred the mountain biking but now I'm spending more and more time out on the road I'm certainly enjoying it a lot more."

Healy, who has been cycling since his dad took him the Halesowen Cycling Club aged six, is keen to gain as much experience as possible from his first tour away from British roads.

He added: "It's all about gaining experience with a view to going back there next year. There isn't so much emphasis put on teams at the age group level so I'm just going out to see what I can do personally.

"There is an individual young rider competition for first year juniors as well so it would be great if I could get near the top of that.

"It's hard to know what to expect until I'm there. I have looked at the route and there is a lot of steep climbs, which will also be new to me. I've never had the experience of 20 to 30 minutes of hard climbing because we just don't have that here. But I'm a light rider so hopefully climbing won't be too difficult for me."

Healy now heads to Spain after finishing his GCSEs at Summerhill School but has his sights firmly set on a career as a senior pro.

"It hasn't been too difficult balancing the exams with the racing," he added. "I just had to make sure I got my revision in early.

"My aim is to work my way up and keep getting more experience each year so that I can hopefully progress into the senior teams at some stage.

"The team is helping me a lot and they have a good under-23 teams as well which could be my next step. The tour of the Basque Country will hopefully be good experience for the future."