Sam Bennett may have taken his best result of the Tour de France yesterday into Nimes - at the end of stage 16 - when he placed 4th, but the Irishman said he had been having issues with his form and his recovery since the weekend.
The Irishman, now riding for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, is back at the Tour this year after a four-year break, with injury and non-selection ruling him out since 2020, when he won two stages and the green jersey.
In that period, the 2022 Vuelta is the only Grand Tour the Irishman has started. And though he won two stages in that race, he was forced out, after contracting Covid-19, before the start of stage 10.
And that stop-start nature of his Grand Tour riding over the last four years means the 16 stages already completed at the Tour is the longest continuous period of racing the 33-year-old has done since the 2020 Tour.
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Against that background, it is perhaps no surprise he has pointed to some shortcomings with his recovery rate in recent days. However, once he completes this Tour, it should help build his engine again towards a stronger second half of the season and with next year in mind.
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"I haven't had good sensations since Saturday, and the rest day didn't allow me to recover enough," Bennett said after finishing 4th yesterday behind Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno X Mobility).
"It was a hard day. I took things step by step, and hung on to get the best possible result for what was my last opportunity," he added of the stage into Nimes being the last obvious chance for the sprinters.
"I'm a bit disappointed with fourth place, but given my sensations over the past few days, it's still satisfying. The team once again did a very good job."
Jusqu’au bout de l’effort ?⚔️??
All the way to the end, @Sammmy_Be gave it his all! ?⚔️??#DECATHLONAG2RLAMONDIALETEAM - © KBLB pic.twitter.com/oZgMpwbr8t
— DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM (@decathlonAG2RLM) July 16, 2024
