Sam Bennett gets back to serious business this Sunday when he heads to Paris-Nice for the first time in his career. Having done Tirreno-Adriatico in recent years - and done very well - the Irishman has a different programme this term and he can't wait to get going.
By Brian Canty
Sam Bennett is one of three Irish riders starting Paris-Nice next Sunday and unlike Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan it will be his debut in the event known as the Race to the Sun.
The sun, of course, is that which bathes the Cote d’Azur where Bennett is lucky enough to call home these days and with chances for sprinters next week he’s feeling good about getting some results.
“I don’t actually know,” was his Bennett-esque reply to what days he feels optimistic about, clearly the sign of a guy in a good place.
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Indeed, his jovial form can be attributed to a few things; a solid winter base, an extended period of racing in Australia, a win to boot down there and most recently, a spell at altitude in the Sierra Nevada in sourth Spain.
He will target wins in Paris-Nice and will follow it up with Milan San-Remo on March 18th, seven days later.
From there he’s likely to head back to altitude to build up for the Giro d’Italia, another race he will do for the first time in his career.
In short, it’s a whole new world for Bennett now as the pressure to win has been offloaded to teammate and world champion Peter Sagan, the programme is somewhat more favourable - and light on race days, with more of an emphasis on training, be it sea level or at altitude.
Bennett rode the Herald Sun Tour and the Cadel Evans Ocean Race in January and had an entire month away from racing afterwards. He's hoping the lighter race programme as well as a stint at altitude can help reap rewards in the coming months.
“I never did altitude training properly and we said I’d go down to the Sierra Nevada and do two of the three weeks (the team had planned) and see how the body reacts and then we can say whether it’d be a good thing to do before the Giro or not,” said Bennett from his base in Monaco.
“Then, at least if it didn’t work I know I wouldn’t mess myself up before a big Grand Tour so I said we’ll trial it now and so far it’s been good.
“I’m kind of disappointed with myself that I haven’t done it for years,” he added.
People react differently to altitude and the jury is still out with some riders as to whether it does more harm than good.
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“I think being there at altitude is difficult and you have to know what you’re doing,” suggested Bennett.
“If I went there myself I wouldn’t know what I was doing but my coaches know and they’re monitoring me the whole time, pulling me back if I need to.
“I’d be going on heart rate more than power. But I just notice I’d run up the stairs and not recover or not recover as much as I would have expected if I was at sea level.
“I was also hungrier a lot more! You could eat a lot more and not be hungry so I was happy with that!”
Bennett, right, in action during Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne last Sunday where he finished 24th.
Bennett returned from altitude over a week ago now and raced Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne last Sunday.
He finished 24th but didn’t contest the sprint because there was none as five riders were up the road including the aforementioned Sagan.
“I felt amazing at the weekend and then I was holding back, hoping for it to come to a sprint but I wasn’t going to risk anything for 20th position so I just rode in.
“It’s always natural to have a bit of a dip from the fifth to the 10th day after returning to sea level so now and this morning the training was really hard but hopefully by the time next Sunday comes around I should be good again.
“I think if I have the legs that I had (last) Sunday…I’m really excited for Paris Nice.”
Seven days after it’s the first Monument of the year, the iconic Milan San Remo where the riders will tackle the gruelling 300-kilometre contest.
Bennett is aiming to be good there so he can help Sagan get the job done.
“Tirreno finishes pretty close to San Remo. I always went in there (Tirreno-Adriatico) and came out overcooked and wouldn’t have time to recover.
“Now I’m going to Paris Nice with good condition and 5-6 days to recover and I think that’ll make a big difference but I’m going there to help Sagan.
“It will be really hard. Sometimes when you’re trying to help you feel you’re holding him up but if I have good legs and I get over the last climb it could be the difference on the last run to the finish.”
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