Ireland’s Sam Bennett goes into Giro d’Italia 2018 looking to win big. He has the legs to make it happen and he won’t be kept waiting for his big chance.
Sam Bennett goes into the Giro d’Italia with one thing on his mind; taking his first Grand Tour stage win.
He has some great lead-out men to help in that regard. The presence of Rudi Selig in the squad is very welcome news.
And with two stages in the opening weekend that look suited to the sprinters, the Carrick-on-Suir man will need to be sharp from the outset.
That first weekend represents a golden opportunity for Bennett to step up and join the very exclusive club of Irish cyclists to win Grand Tour stages.
His main rival in the sprints will be Elia Viviani of QuickStep.
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Sam Bennett has had some issues with illness this year. He came down with a bug that ruined his early season racing trip to Australia.
However, he still recovered enough to claim victory in Race Melbourne. Illness also took him out of Paris-Nice this year.
He then returned to action for the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March. And though he was coming back from illness he was 2nd on one stage there and 3rd on another.
In the final stage of the race, around a lumpy circuit in Barcelona, he could be seen off the front attacking. That suggested the event had really brought on his form.
Bennett gets the better of Viviani for victory in Melbourne earlier this year.
He came close to a stage win at the Giro last year and was dominant in the sprints at the Tour of Turkey late last season.
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Those performances mean a stage win during Giro 2018 would be something of a seamless progression for him.
He is already a rider of that stature, he just needs to land the plane; easier said than done, of course.
Twelve months ago at the Giro he was floored by a stomach bug but hung in and recovered. He then went on to finish runner-up on a stage and third three times.
Later in the summer he would win two stages apiece at the Tour of Slovenia and Czech Cycling Tour. But it wasn’t until the end of the campaign that we saw his best.
He claimed victory in the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro (1.HC). Furthermore, he was rampant in Turkey in October. He claimed four stages and also climbed well.
And while the opportunities for sprinters are limited at this year’s Giro, there are a number of stages that can suit the fastmen who can also climb.
Sam Bennett should get a shot at victory early in the race. Saturday’s stage 2 takes the riders 167km from Haifa to Tel Aviv and looks set for a sprint finish.
The following day – 229km from Be'er Sheva to Eilat – is more undulating. But it is still a profile that will hold no fear for Sam Bennett.
While Bennett is the most likely of the Bora-hansgrohe riders to win a stage, the team also a strong general classification option in Davide Formolo.
The Italian 25-year-old won a stage of the Giro three years ago. Furthermore, he was 10th overall last year when riding for Cannondale-Drapac.
He was also 9th in the Vuelta in 2016 and so has a very solid track record from his first Grand Tours.
Formolo was 7th in the recent Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Also this season, he has finished 7th in the Tirreno-Adriatico and 6th in the Abu Dhabi Tour.
As well as Bennett, Formolo and Selig, Felix Großschartner and Christoph Pfingsten are also in the team for the Giro.
The line-up is completed by Cesare Benedetti, Patrick Konrad and Andreas Schillinger.
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