Sam
Bennett goes back to Paris-Nice on Sunday looking to add to his 2020 win tally
and the two stage victories he took in the race last year.
Twelve
months ago, just as it was becoming clear Bennett was going to have the best
season of his career, he won stages 3 and 6 in France in bunch sprints.
This
time around the race is set to be contested in unusual circumstances as
coronavirus spreads in Europe and Italian and Chinese pro races have already
been cancelled due to the virus.
A
number of top teams have withdrawn from Paris-Nice, or from racing completely
for the time being, but Sam Bennett’s Deceuninck-QuickStep is not one of those.
They
will be on the start line when the race gets under on Sunday with a 154km
opening stage starting and finishing in Plaisir.
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While
there are a number of climbs on the course of stage 1, including one close to
the finish, they are short ascents.
Depending
on how the stage is raced, especially the final climb, it would not be beyond
Bennett to be at the pointy end fighting for victory.
Monday’s
and Tuesday’s second and third stages are more obvious chances for sprinters so
Bennett should get an opportunity to add to the victory he took at Tour Down
Under and Race Torquay in January.
Bennett
will be in a very strong team line-up in France as Zdenek Štybar, Kasper
Asgreen, Bob Jungels, Michael Mørkøv and Julian Alaphilippe.
Several
teams that were due to be on the Paris-Nice start line will not be there having
pulled out.
They
include Team Ineos, Mitchelton-Scott, Astana, UAE Team Emirates and CCC Team.
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