Sam Bennett is getting back into action with Bora-hansgrohe, this time in France at Critérium du Dauphiné
Sam Bennett will be back in bunch sprint action at Critérium du Dauphiné in France at the weekend with his Bora-hansgrohe team.
The Irishman has alread won six races this year and will look to make it seven, or more, when racing gets underway on Sunday.
There are eight stages in total, including one TT. The opening stage is a very lumpy 142km from Aurillac to Jussac with a cat 1 on the way.
The only upside is that the biggest climb – 11.1km at 5.9 per cent – is so early in the stage a regrouping looks inevitable. That ascent is crested just 34km into the stage.
After that a 2.8km ascent is crested at 68km followed by a cat 3 at 80km. There are then two cat 2 climbs, at 97km and124km; the last one peaked just 20km from the finish.
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The course looks too hard for a sprint finish of any description though Bennett might make it if everything went his way.
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The first proper sprint stage looks like
stage 3; the 172km from Le Puy-en-Velay to Riom pan flat for
the final third of the stage after four cat 4s earlier.
Two days later, stage 5 takes the riders
201km from Boën-sur-Lignon to Voiron. There are four cat 4
climbs, through last is just after the halfway point.
The finish take the riders up a near 600 metre incline that can suit Bennett if his form is good.
As well as Sam Bennett in the Bora-hansgrohe team Shane
Archbold, Felix Großschartner and Emanuel Buchmann also feature.
The line-up is completed by Gregor Mühlberger, Christoph Pfingsten and Giro stage 12 winner Cesare Benedetti.
Sam Bennett was in race action in Germany at the weekend, riding Rund um Köln (1.1); a race he won last year and in 2014.
This time the racing split to pieces, forcing Bennett to join a chase group to catch the breakaway. When he made the juncture the escape split again.
He was caught in the wrong half and had to settle for 10th. However, it provided a good blow-out for him ahead of Critérium du Dauphiné.
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