Sam Bennett issues statement on his injury and missing Tour de France | Sticky Bottle

Sam Bennett takes the first Tour de France stage win of his career last September on stage 10 into Ile de Re. He also won the final stage into Paris, where he was on the podium as points classification winner. But this year the race will unfold without the Irishman, who suffered a knee injury two weeks ago

Sam Bennett has said he would be doing himself and his
team an “injustice” if he pressed ahead and rode the Tour de France in his
current condition, just two weeks after suffering a knee injury.

The 30-year-old Irishman, who is now confirmed as a
non-starter for the Tour, said he still had lots of goals for the rest of the
season and he wanted to be sure he recovered.

His team, Deceuninck-QuickStep, said today 30-time Tour
stage winner Mark Cavendish would come into the team to replace Bennett as its
designated sprinter.

“Sometimes life throws you a curve ball,” Sam Bennett
said in a statement after his non-participation in the three-week race was
confirmed.

“A couple of weeks ago in training I had a really minor injury that I simply couldn’t heal in time to be at my best for this year’s Tour de France. The race and the Wolfpack deserve me at my very best."

Sam Bennett in yellow at Paris Nice back in March, chatting to lead-out man Michael Mørkøv just 24 hours after Bennett had won the opening stage. The Irish-Danish duo won't get to combine at this year's Tour, which starts in Brittany on Saturday

Sam Bennett continued: “Myself and the team believed I would be ready in time but it became clear in the last few days that I wouldn’t be at the level I always strive to be at to win bunch sprints at the biggest race in the world.

“This season has so much more to offer me so I’m going to
keep fighting and, most importantly, race without any injury risk, in the
coming weeks and months.

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“Needless to say, I’m very disappointed to not be able to
defend my green jersey at this year’s Tour de France.”

Bennett added his injury arose from a “very minor
incident” out training, but clearly indicated he was not concerned about the
injury being a long-term problem.

“While the injury I sustained is very short-term, it impacted my training for the biggest bike race in the world all too much and left me without enough time to be race fit,” he explained.

*The one really positive feature of Bennett's statement today was his apparent lack of concern about his injury in the long-term and his focus immediately switching to other goals*

Bennett also believed he would do himself and his team “an
injustice” to go ahead and ride the Tour in his current condition and he wished
his team mates the best of luck for the Tour.

Missing the Tour is a huge blow for Bennett, who won the
green jersey at last year’s race as well as taking two stage wins. And his
absence this year once again makes Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) the man to beat
in the fight for green this year.

As well as Cavendish, Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Tour line-up
also includes world champion Julian Alaphilippe, Tour of Flanders winner Kasper
Asgreen and Davide Ballerini, who has won a number of races in sprints so far
this year.

Michael Mørkøv, who is usually Sam Bennett’s final lead-out
man, will now switch his attentions to leading out Cavendish during the Tour,
where seven stages are earmarked as likely bunch finishes.

And the very strong team for the Tour de France is then
completed by Mattia Cattaneo, Tim Declercq and Dries Devenyns.