Sam Bennett is set to get the third part of his season underway this weekend with some Belgian classics action at Gent Wevelgem.
The Irish sprinter will go into the race as one of the
main favourites after his double stage win and green jersey ride at the Tour de
France.
The 238km race, from Ypres to Wevelgem, will see Bennett leading his Deceuninck-QuickStep team and a strong performance could mark a move for him towards classics racing in the years ahead.
The provisional team line-up is one that contains other riders who could also win the race, though if Bennett is in contention in the finale he should have very strong team mates around him.
Kasper Asgreen, Tim Declercq, Yves Lampaert, Florian Senechal, Zdenek Stybar and Bert Van Lerberghe make for a very strong team unit.
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And while the final line-up may be tweaked before Sunday,
the race will mark Bennett's return to action following a break in the
aftermath of a very eventful Tour de France for him and his team.
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The last QuickStep rider to win Gent-Wevelgem was Tom
Boonen when he took the last of his two wins back in 2012.
A win for Bennett this Sunday would increase his status
further and arguably change the complexion of the years ahead for him.
Bennett enjoyed a reasonably strong first part of the
season before racing was suspended due to Covid-19 as he won a stage of the
Tour Down Under and also Race Torquay.
However, after a 2nd place on one stage at UAE Tour,
racing was suspended and when Bennett came back for the second part of his
season he was soon winning again.
He took a brilliant stage win, attacking solo on the final climb, at Vuelta a Burgos before going on to take a stage victory at Tour de Wallonie.
The Tour de France followed, with Bennett writing his
name into the history books in that race, and now he is braced for the third section
of the season.
After lining out at Gent Wevelgem this Sunday it is anticipated he would also ride La Vuelta, though his team has not yet confirmed its line-up for the Spanish Grand Tour.
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