Sam Bennett has reflected on his opening couple of races with a mixture of regret and optimism. The Bora-Argon 18 man went close to winning in Majorca last Thursday and on Sunday, but small positional changes in the final few hundred metres cost him a shot at victory.
By Brian Canty
Sam Bennett has said he’s a little disappointed with his opening two races of the season, despite notching second and fourth amongst some world-class company.
The 25-year old Irishman was second in Thursday’s season-opening Trofeo Felanitx and fourth in today’s Trofeo Playa de Palma-Palma, with German powerhouse Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) nailing both sprints to perfection.
Bennett admitted he felt amazing in the finals on both days but tiny details cost him a possible victory, or even two.
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“I’m a little disappointed because the legs are good,” he told stickybottle from Barcelona airport tonight, Sunday.
“On Thursday, Trek-Segafredo and Dimension Data got across my train and I was left alone with a kilometre to go which forced me up the outside on my own into the wind.
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“Then I tried to go on the right-hand side but Greipel started choosing that line so I had to come back around him to go again on the left and there was only 100 metres to go and I just didn’t have enough time to get around him,” explained the Carrick man ruefully.
Bennett was hoping for better this afternoon and with the benefit of one of the best trains in the business he knew there was pressure to deliver.
“Today the guys rode so dominantly; it was the kind of ride that gets us big respect in the peloton and that’s what we really need,” he lauded of his troops.
“They just rode really, really well and I messed it up inside the last kilometre where the guy touched Rudy’s (Rudiger Seler) wheel and I couldn’t get through the gap and lost him completely.
“Then I just got boxed-in and I was watching the sprint happen and couldn’t get out until 100 metres to go.
“I got nothing and I had fantastic legs and it’s annoying when the legs are good and you can’t use them.
“But the team was amazing and it’s great to see everyone giving 100%; it makes my job so much easier to have that support.”
Bennett now heads for the respective Tours of Qatar (February 8th-12th) and Oman (17th-22nd) where he’ll be hoping to emulate – or improve on last year’s top placings.
He won a stage of Qatar and had two top 10s in Oman.
“Everything is good, the train is strong and the morale is amazing so hopefully everything can work out there.”
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