With little racing planned before the Tour de France, Sam Bennett's selection on the NetApp-Endura squad for that race look uncertain.
By Shane Stokes
The chances of Sam Bennett being selected for what would be his debut Tour de France look uncertain, with his NetApp Endura team confirming this week that his sole race between now and the July 5th start is the national championships in Ireland.
Bennett last competed in the GP Kanton Aargau – Gippingen seven days ago. His team-mates have been competing in either the Critérium du Dauphiné or the Tour of Slovenia, with the latter starting yesterday and running until Sunday.
Speaking to stickybottle, general manager Ralph Denk said that the lineup for the Tour would be determined based on the outcome of those races.
“This depends from the overall structure of our Tour squad which we haven’t defined yet," he said.
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"We still have two preparation tours to come with the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Slovenia. Only after those we’ll decide the final direction for our team in the Tour de France, including the key decision if we also want to go for sprints in our tactics.”
It is thought that the team is aiming for a strong overall performance by Leopold König, who was a solid eleventh overall in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
If so, it may favour a squad comprised largely of riders to help him.
Bennett’s supporters will point to his three victories in his debut season, plus his stage win in last year’s Tour of Britain. They will argue that his victories in the Clasica de Almeria in March, the Rund um Köln in April and this month’s fifth stage of the Bayern Rundfarht should give him the chance of starting the Tour.
He is the team’s fastest finisher and while a Tour stage win might be a lot to aim for in his first participation in the race, mixing it with the world’s top sprinters and landing top five finishes could be a realistic target.
All of this is academic if the team ultimately decides not to send him this time round.
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Bennett has been put into some very big races in his debut season, the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix included. He has already taken podium finishes sprinting against big name riders who have won bunch sprint stages in the Tour de France. But many who believe he should be looked after now towards achieving all he can in the long term will be relieved if he does not get a ride in the Tour de France next month.
Whatever the outcome of the selection process, Denk is pleased by what he has seen thus far this year.
“I am very satisfied with Sam,” he told stickybottle.
“This does not only include his great results but also how quickly he found a way to fit in our team. Above all, I am very happy that he is able to race result-orientated even with changing lead-out formations.
“I’m actually not that surprised that he already scored some wins in the early season. He proved in the late part of last year’s season that he is able to win big races.
"So his success right now is rather an implication of his development and the positive structure of our team.”
Asked what he considered the Carrick on Suir rider’s strong points were, he pointed to his maturity and his absolute determination to win.
“He doesn’t see any success in a second, third or fourth place – he is hungry for wins only. He can climb decently for a sprinter, which makes him special in many races.
“The endurance, which he’ll need for longer tours and stages in the future, will develop by itself. One point to improve upon: learn to take some tasks more easily and that strength lies also in calmness during a race."
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