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Sam Bennett has reflected on the high point of his 2020 season, saying he was proud to bring the Tour de France green jersey back to Carrick-on-Suir 31 years after Sean Kelly’s final victory in the points classification.
Bennett, who wasn’t even born when Kelly took the last of
his four green jersey wins, said when he secured the jersey and was standing on
the podium in Paris he was very aware it may be a “once in a lifetime” moment.
“Being on the podium in Paris to collect the winner’s
trophy and the green jersey, which made me very proud to bring to
Carrick-on-Suir 31 years after Sean Kelly, was unbelievable… it was maybe a
once in a lifetime moment,” he said.
Bennett also paid tribute to his Deceuninck-QuickStep team mates, saying having them there in Paris, and wearing T-shirts with this name on, made it even more special.
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He added when he went into the race he was focused on taking his first ever stage win at the Tour, rather than the green jersey, as he felt that classification would require a big investment of energy.
However, he said he rode so consistently in the opening phase of the race he got the green jersey for two days, before losing it to Peter Sagan, and once he’d had a taste of it he wanted it again.
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“At the same time, I wanted to win a stage, not just wear
the green jersey, and to finally get it on stage 10 in Île de Ré meant the
world to me,” he explained.
“It brought back green after losing it three days before
and it took the pressure off and made me calmer for the remainder of the race.
I didn’t know if I would get this chance again. I sensed it would be the
opportunity of a lifetime.
“I had a great team and great legs, so I went all in from that point, focusing on taking it to Paris.”
While Bennett had a huge lead in the classification in the final days of the race, he said he could only truly accept he’d won once he took points at the intermediate sprint on the final stage.
From that point, with green in the bag, he was able to focus fully on taking the stage win, regarded as the ‘world championships for sprinters’.
“I was very calm in the final 50 kilometers, just
followed the boys, who were once again phenomenal, and coming through the last
corner I knew what I had to do and did it,” he said.
“Once I crossed the finish, I couldn’t believe what had
just happened, I needed some time to realise what I had just done.
“You always dream of something like that – winning at the
Tour de France in Paris – but you never think you might actually do it, as
there are so many pieces that need to fall into the right place.”
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