By Shane Stokes
Sam Bennett has a win and six other podium finishes to his credit this season and will head into Milan-San Remo as one of the outside tips for victory. However after withdrawing early from Paris-Nice with a respiratory illness, his own Bora-hansgrohe team admits that the race will be a journey into the unknown.
It hopes that Bennett will be in the running for victory on San Remo’s famous Via Roma finishing straight on Saturday, but accepts that things could go either way.
Bora-hansgrohe's head of performance, Dan Lorang, also spoke to stickybottle about Bennett's aerobic condition at present, his power numbers and what he believes we can expect from the Irish rider in the weeks and months ahead. But, first, Milan-Sanremo.
“With him getting the cold, it’s always hard to say because what can you do now after getting a cold at a race,” Lorang said. “Heading into the next race you can just recover, keep the body moving a little bit moving and hope that you’re back to 100 per cent.
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“That’s why I think it’s a gamble how good he will be in Milan San Remo. Everything is possible, but after sickness it’s always hard to give a definite answer.”
Bennett got things off to a perfect start on his very first day of racing this year, taking stage one of the Vuelta a San Juan Internacional. He was also second on another stage there, plus on a stage of the UAE Tour and on day one of Paris-Nice. The 2021 Tour de France green jersey wearer is far stronger than 12 months ago when he was coming back from a knee injury and, Paris-Nice illness aside, Lorang believes he is on a very good trajectory.
“Sam was in a good way, aerobically really at a high level,” he explains. “He is also higher than at the same time last year. He is also good at high intensities compared to last year. Until he caught the cold, we were quite confident that the next victory is just around the corner.”
Bennett has never sprinted for victory in Milan-San Remo. To date his best result is 28th in 2019, racing home as part of a chasing group sprinting for 14th place, 27 seconds behind the winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep). But as a sprinter who is also strong on shorter climbs, the race is one which could and should suit his characteristics.
One year things might just pay off.
"If things click, he will get some victories in a row"
For Lorang, several of Bennett’s near misses may be down to a slight lack of self-belief, or through not getting his timing exactly right. At Paris-Nice the Irishman also suggested that he has a way to go to approach his top form, telling Eurosport that he is some way off where he believes he should be.
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“I still have a lot of work to do to get my sprint back,” he said then. “I am still missing two to three hundred watts. When I get a bit of time I will be able to work on that, and it will make a big difference in the finals.”
Lorang acknowledges that there is another level to be found, but he disputes the missing numbers are as dramatic as Bennett suggests.
“At the beginning of the year we were quite happy with how things were moving forward, and also in having an early victory with Sam. The numbers were also quite good. But we also saw that still the body seems to have problems to really get to this high peak powers.
“However it’s not that he’s missing 200 to 300 watts, that is just not true. Probably he just said this out of nowhere, but he is missing something. Perhaps we talk in the peak about 50, maximum 100 watts, lacking in pure peak, but we saw over the years that he also won a lot of races with less power.
“So I think it’s one side a little bit the power [that is the missing element – ed.], but on the other side sometimes also the timing and the confidence [needed] to be really able to win. To really go for it and believe 100% in yourself.”
Like many sprinters, Bennett is spurred on by success. Morale is hugely important for those in the tussle of the bunch sprints, with breakthroughs after fallow periods often transforming a rider and sparking off a run of wins.
Lorang has worked with him for many years and knows that a strong head very often leads to strong legs.
That’s why the mental aspect to performance is such a big thing.
“By comparing his numbers to the last year’s we hope that we can convince him that he is there, that he can win, and that he has the self-confidence. Also with a guy like Danny [Van Poppel, his key leadout rider – ed.], that is also something that can really reassure him that he will be at the right spot at the right moment.
“For sure also in training everything will be done to keep his great endurance while also adding some extra power to give him more confidence.”
Lorang feels that the team is not far off from a succession of sprint wins with Bennett.
“If things click, then he will get some victories in a row,” he said. “But we have to get to that [breakthrough] point.”
