Sam Bennett's most impressive win of three at the Giro was into Imola. He monstered the final sprint on a day when most of the fast men couldn't hold their place in the reduced peloton.
After taking three stage wins at the Giro in May Sam Bennett will not ride the Vuelta. The Spanish Grand Tour begins in just over a week.
Bennett had skipped the Tour de France, as expected, in July after his Giro success. And it was hoped he would ride the Vuelta. He would have been a favourite for more victories there.
However, his Bora-hansgrohe team has named its line-up this morning. And Sam Bennett was not among those listed on the team sheet.
The selection will be led by world champion Peter Sagan. He will target stage wins and the points classification.
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However, Sagan is not the only star name in the team and there are several overall contenders. They are Emanuel Buchmann, Davide Formolo and Rafał Majka.
All three are capable of winning mountain stages and will hope to break into the top 10 overall.
And with both Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas not riding, the race for the red leader's jersey should be more open this time around.
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Also in the Bora-hansgrohe Vuelta team are: Marcus Burghardt, Jay McCarthy, Lukas Pöstlberger and Michael Schwarzmann.
Sam Bennett has rarely raced on the same team as Sagan, though mixing both in the same selection in a Grand Tour would not be impossible.
The Irishman suggested earlier in the year the Giro was his focus rather than the Tour or Vuelta this year.
However, teams often change plans when riders hit form, or indeed lose it. And there was always a chance he may ride the Spanish Grand Tour, especially having had such a fantastic Giro.
But he has not raced much since his breakthrough ride at the Giro and clearly those plans to ride just one Grand Tour this year have not changed.
He had never won a Grand Tour stage before the Giro and emerged from it a true star.
That race ended on May 27th and Bennett raced again two weeks later in Germany. He won Rund um Köln (1.1) on June 10th.
Since then, just over two months ago, Bennett has only raced once. He rode the national road race championships on July 1st, which he abandoned.
In the absence of riding the Vuelta, he has been provisionally entered into the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France (1.UWT), a one-day race on Sunday week.
Hopefully we will see him back in action again then, and back on the podium.
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