Sam Bennett has said his return for a second stint with Bora-hansgrohe simply did not work out, adding he thought the team would be the same when he returned but it wasn't.
Despite his best efforts, and those of the team, things did not click into place. Though he enjoyed a strong second half of 2022, his build-up towards the 2023 season was not helped by falling in an airport while rushing for a connecting flight.
The Carrick-on-Suir man said he had a chip on his shoulder about the way his career has gone in recent seasons. But he remained determined to prove he was not a sprinter who was unable to win again once they left Patrick Lefevere's QuickStep team.
While he injured his right knee when riding for that team in 2021, he then got an injury in his left knee, ensuring he was on the back foot for the first half of the 2022 campaign.
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"Then in the second half of the year, I didn’t show myself enough for the Tour de France, and at the time I was heartbroken but looking back I wasn’t good enough," he told Global Cycling Network.
"I got myself together, was good at the Vuelta where I won a couple of stages, and then I ended the year with third in Paris-Tours. I was flying that day and had a bloody good day on the bike, but then I had a mixture of things go wrong."
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Over the winter period, before the 2023 season, he had his airport mishap and he missed out on Tour selection again, saying Bora-hansgrohe was more intent on focusing on general classification and it was time to move on.
"I’ve got a chip on my shoulder," he said of missing the Tour for the last three years, adding it it was also about "how my career has unfolded".
"I was taken out when I was coming into what should have been my best years and I lost them. I have to prove to myself, and to others, that I still have it. I don’t want to be seen as one of those sprinters who left Quick-Step and couldn’t win anymore. I just know that’s not me.
"There’s still so much that I have to get out of my career and I’m not satisfied yet. Of course, if I retired I could look back at having a fantastic career but I’m not there yet.
When it’s time to step away from the sport I need to be able to say to myself that I achieved all the things that I set out to do. I’m not ready for that yet, and even if I can’t accomplish everything I still want to be close."
He said money was a factor in decided to sign for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, but he also believed he was in the right place and already felt comfortable with the team.
He was also intent on getting back to the Tour de France and in terms of lead-out men, that appeared to be a work in progress. However, he was still targeting "ten wins and a Tour de France stage" next year.
