Sam Bennett reached very high speeds and power output to win stage 7 of UAE Tour in Dubai today. Most of the biggest names in world sprinting were in his wake.
Irish cyclist Sam Bennett sprinted in to win the final stage of UAE Tour today at a maximum speed of 66.9km per hour.
His average speed over the 19 second sprint was 63.2kmph. On the power front; Bennett turned out a maximum of 1,380 watts at the end of the 145km stage.
And though he sprinted off high speed, with the lead-out trains really ramping it up on the run in, Bennett’s average power was still 850 watts over the nineteen second effort.
He saw off Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), with Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) in 3rd; two riders not short of power themselves.
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After the early escape was recaptured with less than 3km remaining, it was clear a bunch sprint was on the cards.
Bennett took up residency behind the wheel of Fernanda Gaviria, who was being led by team mate Alexander Kristoff.
The Irishman had to fight off the advances of a number of riders who also wanted Gaviria’s wheel. In that regard, EF Education First gave the Carrick-on-Suir man the biggest challenge.
As Lotto Soudal was on the front taking it up very early, Bennett was still 20 riders back; calmly waiting and sticking to his plan.
Kristoff then let rip with a powerful seated effort, turning into a sprint, to bring Gaviria to the front and launch him.
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But Bennett was still behind the young Colombian and when the time was right he came past him to win.
It was an excellent victory, coming as it did in a WorldTour race against almost all of the top sprinters in the world.
And now Sam Bennett has developed a very nice habit of claiming the final stages in big races.
As well as his win today in Dubai, he claimed the last stage of Giro d’Italia last year; a glamorous win in Rome after two earlier stage victories.
He also won on the last day of Tour of Turkey last year; jumping clear solo to take it by six seconds from the rest of the peloton.
And more recently he was also best at the final time of asking at Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina for his first victory of this year.
Asked today how he managed to take those wins on the final stages, he joked: “Just pressure; I needed that.
“The team did a fantastic job again, looking after me all day. It just had to be done.”
He said the final sprint today, as always, was chaotic. But he won the battle leading up to the final dash to the line, and that was the key.
“I was just trying to fight for Gaviria’s wheel. The trains are very strong here and I think I did that very well today.
“The guys helped me save as much energy as possible up to about 3k to go. And then I just asked for them to stay near me and it worked really well.
“I had the legs today; the last sprint I did the legs tied up in the last 50 metres,” he explained of Thursday’s stage when he was 4th.
“But today I had the legs. I knew with the riders that are here; if you can get a win, you’re not so bad,” he added of beating sprinting royalty and most of the top sprint teams.
“So it’s just really good for my confidence I think. I’m looking forward; there’s some really nice races coming up and I hope to continue this form.”
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