Sam Bennett has done very well to get this far in his debut Tour de France but he says it's a daily battle for survival and he doesn't feel he'll have the condition to contest any more stages (Photo: Bora-Argon 18 & VeloImages)
Sam Bennett has said he’s “fighting a losing battle” and is already in “survival mode” with eight stages remaining in the Tour de France.
The Irishman had another gruelling day today, crossing the line at the end of the 198-kilometre stage from Muret to Rodez in last place, some 21 minutes down on stage winner Grag Van Avermaet (BMC racing Team).
The Bora Argon 18 man has endured a hellishly hard opening 13 stages and is currently occupying last position on general classification, a strangely prestigious place rewarded with the Lantern Rouge should he stay there and make it to Paris on Sunday week.
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But that would be of absolutely no consolation to him now as he looks ahead to another hard day tomorrow.
“I’m just trying to survive but it’s much easier now," he said.
"There’s not as much fighting for position and it just feels like a normal peloton to go around in,” Bennett said in reference to how the race has reached a point where the stress of making key splits is a bit more manageable.
“But it’s still so far from home and that’s in the back of your mind so you don’t want to go too deep but you still want to make it inside the time cut.”
He’s come close to missing it on a few occasions, being left behind by the gruppetto on the stage to La Pierre Saint Martin which Chris Froome won.
“I knew once I got to the bottom of the climb there was only so much time I could lose and I’d definitely make it inside the time limit,” Bennett said.
Bennett prepares in the team bus. He's getting it hard but he knows he needs to go through these tough processes to get better, as he has done already several times during his career to date (Photo: Bora-Argon 18 & VeloImages)
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“When the gruppetto started they were going too hard for me so I just set my watts up and I went within my limits.
“I was grand then, and I ended up catching the gruppetto and riding in quite comfortably.
“You could even see that they were a bit tired from going too hard earlier on.”
Though Sunday is the only possible chance of a bunch sprint before the final stage in Paris, Bennett wasn’t exactly talking up his chances of doing anything there.
And with key leadout man Zak Dempster pulling out yesterday, he knows the chances of a result are even slimmer.
“I’m not thinking about stages or anything like that,” he said.
“There’s maybe one sprint before the Champs-Élysées but I’m gone into survival mode. I don’t feel so good and I think it’s too early to be feeling not so good.
“It looks so much easier on TV. The preparation wasn’t ideal and I think it shows.
“And then when the form isn’t good, you just can’t fight for position so I’m fighting a losing battle really.”
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