Roche, Porte celebrated Bennett win: "He'd have trouble getting into teenage disco"
Nicolas Roche said he punched the air when he heard Sam Bennett had taken his sprint victory at Paris-Nice.
Nicolas Roche has paid tribute to Sam Bennett after his stage win at Paris-Nice yesterday, saying both he and his BMC Racing team leader Richie Porte punched the air when they heard the Carrick-on-Suir man had won.
“Although we couldn't see what was happening in the sprint to the line, when they announced that 'le sprinteur Irlandais, Sam Bennett' had won the stage, both Richie and I simultaneously punched the air and let out a shout of 'Yes!’” Roche writes in his Irish Independent diary today.
He said while Porte has lost lots of time and is out of contention to win the race thanks to a horrendous few days, they all train together from Monaco where they live and are all good friends.
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“To win today was a fantastic result for Sam, the biggest of his career,” added Roche.
“To win a Paris-Nice stage is pretty special but to do it in the way that he did today - by beating most of the fastest sprinters in the world, is an amazing achievement.”
And the fact his own father, Stephen Roche, was the last Irishman to win a stage of Paris-Nice 28 years ago wasn’t waited on his Nicolas Roche. He recalled that his father had won five stages of the race and taken the overall while Sean Kelly had won the yellow jersey seven times.
“Coincidentally, dad's been on the podium this year working for race organisers ASO and today, as I watched the ceremony from the team bus after the stage, I could see him shaking with delight as he congratulated Sam on another Irish stage win,” Roche said.
He added Bennett’s win was all the sweeter because he had overcome several injuries down the years.
“A baby-faced assassin, who'd have trouble getting into a teenage disco in Ireland, he's probably had more trouble growing his new beard than he's had winning races since then,” he said.
“But, for me, today was the best of the lot and a really big day for him and Irish cycling. I'm really, really happy for him. Maybe I won't shave tonight.”
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