Sam Bennett's big moment in Paris at the end of the Tour de France really moved the dial back home in Ireland, where he has clearly been on the minds of sports fans according to the Teneo sporting survey for 2020

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Sam Bennett has become one of the most admired sports stars in Ireland and cycling as a sport has increased in popularity with the Irish public, according to the Teneo sports survey for 2020.

Teneo, a global consultancy company with a base in Dublin, carries out a survey of the Irish people at the end of each year to assess the sports, stars and events that are capturing the public's imagination.

A look back at the survey results over the past five years reveals cycling has never featured - it has never been mentioned at all.

No cyclists have ever made the list of most admired Irish athletes, no cycling achievement has registered among the biggest moments and cycling has never feature as one of the most popular sports.

However, in the 2020 survey cycling makes an appearance in a number of the indexes and it's Sam Bennett leading the charge; a reflection of how he captured the public's imagination during his Tour de France success.

Lara Gillespie attacks Dolomite stage as Giro hits high mountains — Sam Bennett's win into Paris and his green jersey victory were 2nd - only to the iconic Katie Taylor - in the 'most memorable moment' and 'biggest achievement' categories for 2020. But this was the moment when Irish fans really started to pay attention on the Tour, when he was overcome with emotion after taking his first ever win on the race on stage 10

Video - Italy's hero Balsamo mobbed mid-stage during Giro TT — Sam Bennett's win into Paris and his green jersey victory were 2nd - only to the iconic Katie Taylor - in the 'most memorable moment' and 'biggest achievement' categories for 2020. But this was the moment when Irish fans really started to pay attention on the Tour, when he was overcome with emotion after taking his first ever win on the race on stage 10

Katie Taylor is Ireland's most admired sports star, with an astonishing 30 per cent of the vote. But Sam Bennett is equal 4th on the list - quite an achievement for a cyclist in Ireland.

When it comes to the biggest achievement of the year and the biggest sporting moment of the year, Taylor is top in both categories for her win over Delfine Persoon.

However, Bennett is 2nd in both indexes for his win on the final stage of the Tour de France (most memorable moment) and the points jersey win in the race (best achievement).

The 30-year-old Carrick-on-Suir man is more popular on those indexes than the most successful GAA teams in the country, even the Dublin footballers who won a record-breaking 6th All Ireland crown in a row last year and are widely regarded as the best team of all time.

Perhaps most interesting of all is that cycling now appears in the "favourite sport" category for the first time ever. There are probably a couple of factors at play; Bennett's success and his raw emotion during the Tour and the fact cycling really boomed in Ireland during the pandemic.

Cycling was listed as equal 4th most popular sport last year; alongside tennis. Gaelic games was the most popular, followed by soccer and rugby.