Sam Bennett is back in action for the first time tomorrow, Monday, since he was forced out of La Vuelta before the halfway point last month due to Covid-19. While it was initially uncertain if he would race again this season, the Irish sprinter gets a late season run of races underway tomorrow in Germany.
He will be on the start line of Sparkassen Münsterland Giro (1.Pro), which he won five years ago. This time around Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) will be among one of the most impressive sprinter line-ups assembled this season and will have his work cut out to win again.
Bennett scorched back into form at La Vuelta, winning stages 2 and 3, and looked on course for several more victories, until he was among a large number of riders forced out of the event due to Covid-19. He may now require a race or two before he can recapture that top end speed, though once he is fully recovered anything is possible for him tomorrow.
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He will, however, face very significant opposition for victory if the race comes down to a bunch sprint, as expected, as the start list contains most of the top sprinters in the world.
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Fabio Jakobsen will lead the charge for QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl, aided by the expert lead-out of Michael Mørkøv. Max Walscheid will be the fancied sprinter for Cofidis while Giacomo Nizzolo will be on the hunt for a badly needed win for Israel Premier Tech.
One of the top new sprinters on the scene, 20-year-old Olav Kooij, has already taken 11 wins this season for Jumbo Visma and will be looking to scalp the biggest names tomorrow if he can. Dylan Groenewegen is also in the field, for BikeExchange-Jayco, while Sam Weslford with carry Team DSM's hopes.
Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) will be looking for a win on home roads while Jasper Philipsen will also fancy his chances of another win for Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Bennett goes into the race - some 205.9km from Telgte to Münster - without Ryan Mullen or Danny van Poppel as lead-out men. However, Shane Archbald and Jordi Meeus are in the Bora-hansgrohe team and can combine to deliver Bennett tomorrow as he tries to end his season on a high with another win.
