Sam Bennett had a significant day on the Tour de France today, though neither him nor his main rival for the green jersey, Peter Sagan, scored points.
While Sagan's Bora-hansgrohe was expected to put Bennett under pressure early on the stage in a bid to drop him on the climbs before the intermediate sprint, Bennett marked Sagan out of the action in the opening hour of racing.
That ensured Sagan missed the large breakaway when it went clear and with it went one of the very few chances he has left to gain points on Carrick-on-Suir's Bennett.
"I expected a tough start today, but in the end it
was fine. The team had a great day, and that was convenient,” said Bennett of
today’s stage 16 on the Tour.
“As for my strategy, once the intermediate sprint is
done, it’s all about preparing for the next day - saving energy, saving the
legs.
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“Whatever extra effort you do is due to be paid in the
following days, especially in this hard Tour de France. It is about fighting
our way through Sunday. That will be a day to enjoy.
“I’m getting more optimistic, but it is just because I felt so good on the bike today. Things can change quickly."
Today’s stage 16 profile, with a moderately hilly start,
looked dangerous for Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep).
It was the kind of stage that Sagan’s Bora-hansgrohe
could try to drop the Irishman on the climbs before the intermediate sprint and
potentially score 20 points at the sprint prime.
Instead, while Sagan tried to get away he failed to make it into the large breakaway when it finally went; Bennett following him everywhere and Sagan and his team not looking as powerful today as they did on Saturday's stage.
Because there were so many riders in the breakaway today, they mopped up all the points at the intermediate sprint in Saint-Joseph-de-Rivière.
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It was a big chance for Sagan that passed him by and one of the real danger days for Bennett in the race for green passed without Sagan making any inroads into Bennett’s lead.
After neither rider scored points at the intermediate
sprint they had no chance of gaining points at the finish as the stage was too
hilly for them.
It means Bennett ended the stage as he started it, with a
45-point lead over Sagan in the race for the green jersey.
Not only is that lead intact, but the Irish rider now has a potentially dangerous day behind him and Sagan is now running out of time to overhaul Bennett; today a wasted golden opportunity to chip away at the Irish rider.
That today was a big chance for Sagan was clear to see in
how his team rode early in the stage.
Bora-hansgrohe placed two riders in the breakaway and yet
the remainder of the team chased the escape group in a bid to catch it before
the intermediate sprint so Sagan might gain points there on Bennett.
The German team, perhaps for the first time, had an air
of desperation about them as they chased the breakaway, even though one of
their riders up the road was Lennard Kämna.
The young German has ridden excellently of late. He claimed 2nd on last Friday’s back-breaking summit finish on the Tour and also won a mountain stage of Critérium du Dauphiné last month.
Yet his own team wanted to bring him, and team mate Daniel Oss, back to the bunch to keep alive Sagan’s already slim hopes of beating Sam Bennett for the green jersey into Paris on Sunday.
When the Bora-hansgrohe chase in the bunch proved unable
to catch the breakaway its two riders were in; Kämna went on and won the stage.
However, while Sagan’s failure to score points today was
a huge boost for Bennett, it wasn’t all good news for the Irish cyclist on the
stage 16 road to Villard-de-Lans.
Matteo Trentin (CCC Team), 3rd in the points competition,
was one of the riders who made it into the early move and he went on to win the
intermediate sprint.
The 20 points he scored in that sprint brought his tally
in the points classification to 212; compared to Bennett’s 269 and Sagan’s 224.
Trentin’s performance today means Bennett must now be wary of both him and Sagan in the days ahead. However, the opportunities where they could gain ground over the Irishman now look very slim, even if Trentin has edge himself just about into the frame to win the green jersey.
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