Sam Bennett, third rider from left, with his new NetApp-Endura team mates at their training camp in Mallorca this week.
Having signed for Pro Continental team NetApp-Endura from the An Post-Chainreaction squad in the off season, Carrick rider Sam Bennett is set to be a busy man in the weeks ahead.
He has been named in his new squad’s line-ups for both the Tour of Qatar and Tour of Oman next month, with management saying they are curious to see how he will do in his first outings.
Both races traditionally have plenty of opportunities for sprinters, with the fast men especially dominant in Qatar.
NetApp-Endura team manager, Ralph Denk said he was looking forward to seeing how Bennett performed.
However, the Irish fast man will have to contend with the fact that the in-form sprinter Zak Dempster is also in the team, fresh from taking a win earlier this month at the Bay Crits in Australia.
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“We are particularly curious about Sam, as the first race in a new team is always something special,” said Denk.
“Blaz Jarc, Andreas Schillinger, Daniel Schorn, Michael Schwarzmann, Scott Thwaites and Paul Voss are also scheduled to start.”
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He added when the six-day in Qatar was complete, the team would then change the line-up a little for the Tour of Oman.
"The team will be led by Leo König. Cesare Benedetti, David de la Cruz, Bartosz Huzarski und Frantisek Padour complete the line-up of climbers. Zak Dempster, Sam Bennett and Andreas Schillinger will be coming from Qatar to Oman to fight for results in the sprint stages.”
"Both tours are something rather special. In Qatar almost every stage will be decided at top speed in a mass sprint. The wind is the only hurdle; otherwise it's a good start to the season under optimum conditions for our sprint and classic specialists."
"Our tour riders will be starting the season in Oman. The stages are considerably more demanding in terms of their profile. When you look at last year's podium, the quality of the field that this race traditionally enjoys becomes clear.
"Although we are of course travelling to Oman with high ambitions, the next important thing is to get some initial evidence of our performance under race conditions."
The Tour of Qatar, which Bennett has ridden before with An Post-Chainreaction, takes place from February 9th to 14th. Its six stages cover 715 kilometres over flat terrain, with one time trial.
The Tour of Oman begins four days later, on February 18th, and runs until the 23rd of the month. It is hillier, but there are also two flat stages before the bruising summit finish atop Green Mountain puts shape on the overall standings.
Bennett at an event in Carrick on New Year's Day where the local cycling community met to celebrate his signing with a major pro team.
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