Sam Bennett believes he can benefit from having Mark Cavendish as a team mate but looking at how the British rider set the bar so high for himself, how he handled expectations and how he approached major races.
The Irish rider
is now one of the most prolific sprinters in pro cycling and has been joined at
Deceuninck-QuickStep by Cavendish for the coming season.
Cavendish has won
30 stages at the Tour de France as well as Milan Sanremo and the road race at
the World Championships.
Bennett said he
aims to target more Tour success this year, having won two stages and the
points classification last season, and sees Cavendish’s experiences as
something he can take from and put into practice.
The Irish and British riders sat next to each other while speaking to the media by video link earlier today from their team’s pre-season training camp in Altea, Spain.
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“It’s how to approach it mentally and deal with
pressure,” Bennett said of the benefit
of having fellow sprinter Cavendish as a team mate.
“He’s a guy that’s dealt with expectation. If he came away with two stages in one Grand
Tour people would say it’s a bad Grand Tour for him so he set the bar really
high for himself.
“So just learn from his experience, his mind frame and how he approaches the big
races.
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“I don’t know if I can top 2020, which was such an incredible season. But I’d
like to get some more stages at the
Tour, especially as this year’s parcours is more sprinter-friendly.
“I would also like to get a one-day WorldTour
win, it’s something that’s missing from my palmares and I hope to tick it off
this year.
“I had a good winter, the training camp is going very well so far, the condition is building and the confidence is there. So hopefully things will continue in that direction and we’ll soon be in action.”
The team now has four sprinters in Bennett, Cavendish Alvaro
Hodeg and Fabio Jakobsen, though the latter is still in rehabilitation mode
after his horror crashed on Tour de Pologne stage 1 last year.
Cavendish said he was taking a realistic approach, adding
he knew he was dreaming if he thought he would have the same success this year
as he enjoyed at the height of his career, three years of which was previously
spent with the team he has now re-joined.
However, he said he had a lot to offer and also revealed
when he became emotional after Gent Wevelgem, during an interview in which he
said his career may be finishing, he was immediately contacted by several teams
and so knew his career wasn’t over.
“If it was about trying to win what I have previously,
I’m a realist. I’m not looking to hang on to anything,” Cavendish said.
“I just know I’m just still good, and all you can do is
look forward, and stay strong. Even if I’m not winning, I still believe I can
add something to this team.
“Ultimately I was happiest when I was here, and the opportunity to come back here is a dream.”
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