Back to Caerphilly | Where it all began for Sam Bennett 10 years ago | Sticky Bottle

Sam Bennett beaten to stage 2 victory at the 2013 Tour of Britain by Gerald Ciolek, who won Milan-Sanremo that year, but the Irishman would turn the tables three days later to take the win that secured his first pro contract (Photo: Tour of Britain)

Sam Bennett may not be riding La Vuelta at present but the Bora-hansgrohe rider is one of three Irish cyclists set to start Tour of Britain today; a race that hosted his breakthrough to the big time back in 2013 and finally secured him a pro contract.

NetApp-Endura - a small ProConti team at the time, which would later morph into World Tour outfit Bora-hansgrohe - had been speaking with Bennett during the 2013 season. Its team management told the Irishman if he won a stage at Tour of Britain they would sign him for the following year.

Bennett, then 22-years-old and with Irish Continental team An Post-Chain Reaction, put up a great effort on stage 2 into Kendal. But after a whopping 225km of racing, he was beaten to the line by Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka). Three days later, it was Bennett who got the better of the German; winning a very challenging uphill sprint into Caerphilly, where the race will return to this week for another stage finish.

Bennett is in the Bora-hansgrohe team with Irish and Dutch lead-out men, Ryan Mullen and Danny van Poppel. With three wins this season, Bennett needs a big finish to the year, at a time when he is tipped to leave Bora-hansgrohe, after a tricky two years. And the symbolism of returning to Caerphilly, where his ambition to turn pro was effectively realised, is not wasted on him.

“It's true; without this stage victory, I wouldn't be here today," he said of that day back in Caerphilly in September, 2013. "If I hadn't taken the win in Caerphilly, I would have gone back to university in Ireland. Instead, the win opened the door to the professional peloton for me.

“I have great memories of Caerphilly. The last time I raced there it was at a make or break point in my career. But I got my stage win, which allowed me to turn pro with NetApp-Endura the following year."

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With a Tour of Britain course this week that could - on paper at least - end in a bunch sprint, or a sprint from a large group, on all of the eight stages, Bennett has a huge opportunity to added another win or two to his tally for the 2023 season. Indeed, the hilliest stage is the final one, to Caerphilly, where Bennett was victorious in 2013.

“I think there are plenty of opportunities for sprinters, and we have a strong team at the start. With that in mind, I'm really looking forward to the race," Bennett said of his Bora-hansgrohe team that also includes Patrick Gamper, Nils Politt, Matthew Walls and Ide Schelling.

Also in the race is Rory Townsend, the former Irish road race champion riding brilliantly this year for Bolton Equities Black Spoke. He will love the mainly flat course - with some climbs - which is tailormade to his abilities, both in a breakaway and in a sprint from a group.

Townsend was most recently in action at the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine (2.1) four-stage race in France. He took 4th on the final stage into Poitiers, when the fight for victory came down to a sprint from a reduced group.