Stickybottle catches up with Sam Bennett to discuss life as a pro. We ask about breaking through, the media back home, self doubt, winning and the need for cyclists to rest properly.
Ireland's Sam Bennett on life as a pro cyclist
By Luke Maguire
With the season now firmly underway for Sam Bennett; the early exchanges have been mixed for the rising sprinter.
He took victory at Race Melbourne once again at a canter last Thursday. But before that win the Tour Down Under was ruined for him by illness.
And with inconsistent form as a result, he failed to finish the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race last Sunday.
He will view that latter event as a lost opportunity for a really big win.
Bennett is one of the few sprinters who can climb. It meant he had a real chance, if on form, of making it to the finish at the front.
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In the end he had two team mates in the escape, Daniel Oss and Jay McCarthy.
And in the absence of both Bennett and Peter Sagan, it was McCarthy who took the win.
However, there is a long way to go in this campaign. And with Bennett set to ride the Giro again this year, 2018 could be another big season for him.
We caught up with him recently for a wide ranging interview. We asked him about last year, becoming famous and being in the media more often.
Because he continued to race until October, at the Tour of Turkey, he said his winter was a short one.
The view from Bennett's apartment at his Monaco base. At the team launch for the 2013 season with Sean Kelly and Irish riders Ronan McLaughlin, Sean Downey and Jack Wilson.
“I got a couple of weeks at home in Ireland,” said the Monaco-based 27-year-old.
“It’s always good to get home to see the family and friends. This year I got almost four weeks of holidays which was good for the head.
“I think the body could probably have come back quicker. But after a long season the head needed more time.
“I got to fit in a trip driving around Italy which was nice.
“But between getting my bike position sorted for next year and the team bonding camp I didn’t have time for a proper holiday.”
Last year saw him claim 11 victories. He took his first win of 2017 last January in Melbourne. His second victory came at Paris-Nice in May.
What followed was an illness-hit Giro. And while the opening week was a wipe-out he recovered to take three 3rds and one 2nd place.
In June he would win two stages of the Tour of Slovenia. In August two more stage wins would follow, this time at the Czech Cycling Tour.
Though still winning he was beginning to feel fatigued. And when he struggled at his next few races he stepped back and took a break.
He returned with a great victory at Sparkassen Munsterland Giro in early October. Bennett then went on to the Tour of Turkey, taking four stage wins from the six on offer.
He also won the points classification in both Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
The overhead view of his winning margin at Paris-Nice. Winning his fourth stage in Turkey in October.
The stage win in Paris-Nice was particularly special because all the big names were there,” he said.
“Everybody got a clean run at the sprint and I won it fair and square.”
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Behind him on the day were most of the biggest names in sprinting; Kristoff, Kittel, Degenkolb, Matthews. Demare and Greipel.
“Every year I set myself the target of 10 race wins,” Bennett said of his approach.
“I remember when I first signed for Bora I said to myself if I could get 10 wins per season for 10 years then I could rest easy.
“But that’s over one hundred wins. Not many riders can do that. And it might be a bit late but it’s still a dream.
“Before last season I had no WorldTour win to my name. And I was starting to wonder would it ever happen at all.
“Finally getting it was both a relief but also a confidence booster.
“When I was with An-Post I used to wonder would I ever be able to be up there; competing with the likes of Greipel.
“Some of my teammates would laugh at me, but last year it happened."
Interestingly, having had a break in September he said he was refreshed and ready to go again when he returned in October.
That was despite a long hard season already almost completed.
“I was really hungry for results at the end of last season,” he explained. “And I didn’t book a holiday because I kept extending my calendar.
“I wasn’t even supposed to ride the Tour of Turkey. But I asked could I do it, I was just so keen for more wins.”
Sam Bennett in yellow at the Bayern Rundfahrt stage race in Germany in 2015. Photographed by Sean Rowe with Ryan Mullen and Matt Brammeier at the 2016 Worlds.
And while Bennett is a modest interviewee, he said he hoped for more from himself.
“All my numbers and values are up on what they were last year,” he said. “I put it down to more recovery and less training.
"The Tour of Turkey was so late last season and the Tour Down Under so early (this year). So I could afford to train a little less.”
And while living abroad permanently now and travelling extensively, Bennett still keeps a foot in Carrick-on-Suir.
“I’m still in contact with the guys from home a lot,” he said, singling out mentor Martin O’Loughlin.
“Myself and Martin still bounce ideas off each other regularly. Sometimes you need to go back to basics.
“You can get a bit lost at this level. And you need to step back and take a breather.
“Last year there was a period where I was doing everything except giving myself proper rest. I did that and I won five races in two weeks.”
And while clearly enjoying his life in the pro peloton, Bennett sounded very at ease with his new stature.
“I like the fact that I can be at the highest level of an international sport and then walk down the street in Carrick-on-Suir or Clonmel and nobody knows who I am. It’s a good way to stay grounded.
“The Irish media in general don’t really know who I am. I get good support in a lot of the newspapers at home.
“But RTE don’t really pay much attention to me. Then again, if the Late Late Show rang me I’d probably shit myself,” he laughed.
“With the history of cycling I feel that a lot of people who don’t know about cycling only want to talk about doping.
“They don’t talk about the positives or the beautiful sides of the sport.
“I’ve always been firm about my strong anti-doping stance. But I would rather talk about riding the Tour de France or my results.
“I think people would prefer to hear about that stuff. The Irish media is a bit strange that way.
“The GAA has good athletes and is a great way for bringing communities together.
“But at the end of the day it’s only a national sport. The GAA gets huge media attention while I am fighting for stage wins in Grand Tours and most people in Ireland don’t even know my name.
“Obviously people in the cycling community know me and that special dynamic is actually something I really like.
“There is a closeness in Irish cycling and people can approach me and knock me down a peg or two.
“They don’t treat me like a God or anything which is great. I can just be myself.”
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