Sam Bennett's win in Italy today clearly meant an awful lot to him, not least because of what he has endured so far this season. And with just a month to go until the UCI World Road Race Championships in Doha, we can safely say the Carrick man is back somewhere near his best.
By Brian Canty
Sam Bennett took his first win since March today when he claimed the second stage of the Giro della Toscana in Italy, a 2.1-ranked race featuring many of the world’s top sprinters.
The Bora-Argon 18 man ended a horrible run in the best fashion possible – beating Mark Cavendish in a drag race to the line after 185 kilometres.
He hung in there on the tough climbs and stayed with the front group throughout – despite admitting to cramping in both legs for the final 20 kilometres.
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And it also comes as a big confidence-booster in advance of the UCI World Championships in Doha next month.
It was close between Cavendish and Bennett, but the Irishman got his nose in front and kept it there to win (Photo: Sirotti)
“I’m really proud, especially against the riders I won against today,” said a delighted Bennett after the finish.
“I had a really bad season and a lot of bad luck and it’s great that my luck finally changed and it’s a great moment for me here in Italy.
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“When I made it over the last climb on the course I was really motivated. I think Cavendish struggled more than me there so that gave me confidence.
“My team did a brilliant job to get me into position in the last kilometre so I just sat on Mark’s wheel around the final corner and I carried more speed into the home straight than him.”
That final was no place for the feint-hearted, especially in the presence of so many fast-men and where getting around the final bend was crucial. But Bennett kept his cool.
“On the last climb my teammates tried to get me in a good position and I was in a fairly good position but I was getting dropped on that climb.
“I was cramping in both my legs in the last 20k and I was finding it difficult. I didn’t really believe in the sprint but my teammates really pushed me.
“I came into the last corner a little bit back but I kept all my speed and ran around the outside of the guys. I got in behind the Bardiani guy, he went a little early.
“It was very hard for me to wait and wait and when he went a little early I could take a run at him and come off his wheel. I had enough to hold on.”
There was suggestion by one journalist after that Bennett closed the door on runner-up Cavendish but the former seemed as bemused as anyone with that.
“I didn’t feel anything, I left enough room. There’s a corner after the line and I ran a tiny bit wide.
"And I apologised for that but in the sprint there was enough room for him to pass; I came off the wheel on that side...”
The World Championships are almost a month away yet but Bennett has his eyes very much on that already.
“Definitely, I want to do well… I want to be there anyway, there’s a lot of sprinters and it’s just going to be a different level but I’ll do my best.”
He’s back in action tomorrow in Italy at the Coppa Sabatini (1.1) which is followed by three more one-day contests after which the programme includes GP Munsterland (October 3rd), Paris-Bourges, Paris Tours and then the World Championships on October 16th, his 26th birthday.
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