Having recently expressed his doubts about whether he would make the Bora-hansgrohe team for La Vuelta, there is good news for Sam Bennett as he has been named in the line-up for the Spanish Grand Tour.
Furthermore, his lead-out man Ryan Mullen is also in the team meaning Ireland will have at least two riders in the race, which gets underway next Friday.
Both Irish riders had been expecting to be selected for the Tour de France in July. However, they were left off the team when their German World Tour outfit decided to base its selection around the general classification hopes of Aleksandr Vlasov, who went on to finish 5th overall in Paris.
Bennett went into the recent Tour de Pologne searching for a stage win to get his season back on track and it was during that race that he spoke about not being a certainty for La Vuelta, but adding it was "possible" he would be selected.
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However, Bora-hansgrohe confirmed its Vuelta line-up this morning and both Bennett and Mullen are on the team sheet, with Danny Van Poppel, another of Bennett's lead-out men, also in the selection.
The team is effectively split in two - with a sprint set-up for Bennett and other riders set to target the general classification. Giro winner Jai Hindley and Sergio Higuita - who won a stage and held the leader's jersey at Tour de Pologne - the in-form GC riders in the team.
More to cone.
