Sam Bennett and his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team were unable to protect the Irishman’s yellow jersey on the final stage at Région Pays de la Loire Tour (2.1) yesterday. Bennett came under repeated attack in the final 30km from his general classification rivals, with a 15-man group eventually getting clear.
And though there were some sprinters in that lead group – including Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) – despite the lumpy terrain on the finishing circuit, Bennett did not make the cut. Once that group was gone, the Irishman shed time, finishing 6:47 down on stage winner Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), who also won the race overall.
Still, the Irishman won stages 1 and 3, as well as the points classification. And as Bennett is still trying to get back to his top form – and securing top tier victories again – it was a confidence-boosting week.
But, in real terms, how significant are these latest victories as Bennett now takes aim at the Giro, where he will be trying to take his first World Tour win since Vuelta 2022? Are they second tier victories that count for little for rider with Bennett’s palmares? Or should we read more into them?
Let’s start with stating the obvious. In pro cycling it is always very hard to win. And winning races generates the confidence that begets more wins, especially for sprinters. And that is definitely the case for Sam Bennett, who has always been a momentum rider, for good and bad.
Looking at Bennett’s four victories this season – two in the last week and two at Tour de la Provence – they are simply not at a level that automatically suggest he is a contender for a stage win or two at the Giro.
Those two races were both UCI-ranked 2.1 level, a couple of steps down from World Tour events. And the opposition he faced in the sprints were not the same calibre sprinters he will face at the Giro.
However, wins are wins. And the important thing for Bennett is that just a couple of months into the 2025 season he has taken four victories. If he took even one stage victory at the Giro, suddenly the first half of his season would look like a major success.
Last year, Bennett often looked sluggish – appearing heavy-legged and over-geared – in many sprints. It was as if all of his resources were spent by the battle to remain in contention for the final, with nothing left when he reached for his legs in the gallop.
On the basis of what we have seen so far, that sluggishness appears to be gone. He looks fresher – more aggressive and more decisive – when he sprints now. And his victory on Thursday’s stage 3 in France was impressive. He prevailed in an uphill gallop after coming under attack on the lumpy final.
Arguably Bennett’s best quality sprint of the season – though he didn’t win – was his 2nd place, to Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), on the final stage of last month’s Tirreno Adriatico. Milan is one of the best sprinters in the world right now, with six wins so far this season, four of them in World Tour races.
But, after a hard week of racing, Bennett pushed him very close indeed. Had the Irishman gone a little earlier in the sprint, he may have beaten Milan. And it is that sprint – more so than his gallops in France this last week – that suggests he could achieve stage success at the upcoming Giro.
The wins in France were great, they will given Bennett momentum and confidence and it seems, though it is always hard to be certain, that he is gelling better with his team mates in the finals. In another year, before his injury in 2021, Bennett would have made the front group on the final stage in France yesterday and would have won the race overall.
The fact he didn’t do that is no disaster, but it does perhaps point to the fact he is not quite yet at the peak of his powers, back to his former level. In reality, he doesn’t need to regain that former level to win a stage at next month’s Giro. He just needs for his form to hold, hopefully kicking on a bit, and he needs a bit of luck in a couple of sprints.
The final sprinters’ line-up for the Giro is not yet confirmed. But the following look like they will be riding: Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
There are obviously many top sprinters missing from that list, but winning a stage, beating the riders who are on the start line, will be hard. Bennett is not yet be back to his pre-2021 condition and maybe he’ll never recapture it.
But the form he has displayed so far will be enough to win a Giro stage, especially if he gets the rub of the green – probably with positioning – in a couple of sprint finishes.
With four victories already in the bag, if he could take even one Giro stage, the narrative around him – often suggesting he is long past his best – would completely change, and the next contract he might secure could be much more lucrative.
