Having gone head to head yesterday in central London for victory at Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (1.UWT), Elia Viviani and Sam Bennett are back in the news today.
Viviani’s move away from Deceuninck-QuickStep has been
confirmed, with the Italian now officially on his way to Cofidis.
And that transfer being confirmed has focused attention
again on Sam Bennett; the in-form sprinter tipped to take his place at the
Belgian WorldTour team.
There is no official word yet on where Sam Bennett will
be riding next year, though his current contract with Bora-hansgrohe ends this
year and his departure from that team looks certain.
During the Tour de France, French media reports suggested Viviani was moving
to Cofidis and that Bennett was going into Deceuninck-QuickStep to replace the
Italian.
Team boss Patrick Lefevere all but confirmed Bennett was about to arrive. He
said he believed he had the Irishman lined up for next year.
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“It goes without saying that we had to look for an alternative to Viviani.
We think we found that with Bennett,” Lefevere
told Het Nieuwsblad.
Speaking to the Belgian newspaper at the time Lefevere also said he had an
oral agreement with Bennett.
He expected a signature would confirm the deal next month some time this
month.
Viviani’s departure, which was well anticipated, being
confirmed puts the focus back on Bennett, whose new contract – whatever team it
is with – will be one of the biggest stories of the transfer season.
When news of his new deal was confirmed today, Viviani
said he was looking forward to the move and had very specific targets in mind.
He wanted to win Gent-Wevelgem and Milan-Sanremo as well
as taking more Tour de France stages to add to his maiden win in that race last
month.
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