Sam Bennett had a superb week at the Tour of Qatar and will start next week's Tour of Oman full of confidence. “I’m really happy with the performance of myself and the team but disappointed I couldn’t reward the efforts of the team with a win,” he said.
By Brian Canty
Sam Bennett has expressed his satisfaction at how he and his team rode in last week’s Tour of Qatar but admitted a stage win was what he was really after.
The Bora-Argon 18 man was fourth twice and sixth on yesterday’s concluding stage.
They were performances that helped him finish a superb seventh overall just 47 seconds down on winner Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).
“I’m really happy with the performance of myself and the team,” he said.
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“But I was disappointed I couldn’t reward the efforts of the team with a win. It’s frustrating but I could no better.”
Bennett set himself up for an unlikely tilt at the race lead on the opening day when he managed to infiltrate a 21-rider break that forged clear of the field and contested the sprint at the finish.
He was fourth that day but believes he “bottled it” in the gallop.
“I was lucky to get in the break because I was just off the back of the echelon and I made one last effort to make the tail-end of the break and I got in.
“If I waited another few seconds I was gone for sure,” he recalled. “I was surprised to make the split and get back into it and then ride all day.
“In other years I’d have made the first group but blown up and then went to the second group and then the third and ended up in the last group because I never had the strength.
“This year I’ve never missed the first split, I don’t know was it luck or what but I also had massive, massive support from my team which made a big difference.
“In the sprint I think I bottled it; I wasn’t expecting to be there or feeling as good. I still went for it but I hesitated and I shouldn’t have.
“I got nice results but the team wants a win and that’s what we have to get.”
Things looked to have taken a turn for the worse 24 hours later when he came down in a nasty spill 400 metres from the line on stage two.
“A SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team rider tried to jump over the kerb but ended up in front of us on the ground.
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“It was so stupid. He tried to clear a two-foot wide piece of concrete!
“I was lucky I managed to get the speed down before I hit the ground so I only had a few scratches on my elbow.”
Wednesday was an 11-kilometre time trial where Bennett really showed his impressive strength.
“I haven’t ridden one that I wanted to go hard in for years so I just asked my coach how should I approach it,” he said.
“It was just about being clever and trying to hit the average (watts). I started off slower and I really pushed it at the end and I surprised myself.
“I would’ve liked to have gone a little harder at the start but in the last 3-4 kilometres I was able to push on so much.
“It proved the plan (from my coach) was the right thing to do.”
That pushed Bennett up to eighth overall and he’d go one higher a day later, on Thursday, when overnight race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen punctured at the worst possible time and slipped down the standings.
But it wasn’t without some drama as Bennett had to chase back on after suffering a double puncture.
He got back in with the help of his team and would later be there in the sprint; one of just a few who was actually able to survive a ferocious pace set by Katusha at the front.
“The wind was coming from the right, Zak (Depmster) and Rudi (Selig) got me up close to the front but a BMC rider let the wheel go at 1k to go so I had to go around him.
“I was already struggling and then the sprint opened up and another BMC let the wheel go so I tried to keep going but I couldn’t catch Kristoff.”
The same scenario unfolded on the final day yesterday when Bennett was well-poised but instead of taking the lead-out up early, his team left it late to try something new.
“We ended up too far back trying to make a lot of ground up,” Bennett explained.
“I wanted to try something different so we’re not always doing the same thing but I think we learnt a lot.
“I should have got a better result but it’s a learning process. I can’t fault the lads, they were 100 per cent committed and eyeballs out for me all the time.
“It’s nice to be up overall but I wanted a stage win.
“Kristoff was very strong but I just need to be in the right position. If I’m in the right position I should have a chance.”
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