Sam Bennett beats Mark Cavendish for victory in Italy in September. Most Irish cycling fans will welcome the changes in his race program for 2017 (Photo: Sirotti)
Now aged 26 years and nearing his prime, Sam Bennett has already ridden two Grand Tours; the Tour de France this year and last.
He had a nightmare on both occasions, suffering illness in the build-up to the 2015 edition and performing well below his abilities before abandoning.
And this year he crashed heavily in the stage 1 finish into Utah Beach and suffered race-ruining injuries.
His hand came off worst, though a broken finger was only diagnosed well into the event. Incredibly despite his cuts and bruises and mangled hand he finished the event in Paris three weeks later.
His Bora-Argon18 ProContinental outfit has since morphed into a WorldTeam team and with new backing it will be called Bora-hasgrohe inn 2017.
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And having signed some huge names, including world champion Peter Sagan, there will be less pressure on Bennett.
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The Carrick-on-Suir sprinter has told Shane Stokes on CyclingTips that he will ride the Giro d’Italia next year. The Tour de France is still possible but the Giro is locked into his schedule.
He will open the season next month at the Tour Down Under followed by the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, also in Australia, and will then take to the start line of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in Belgium followed by Paris-Nice in France.
Sagan will be the team’s main rider for the Tour de France and the fact Bennett is going to the Giro for the first time in his career will be welcomed by most Irish cycling fans.
It will be a huge challenge to win a stage there, of course, but with most WorldTour teams peaking for the Tour the Giro can sometimes prove a better arena for sprinters like Bennett to make their Grand Tour breakthrough.
And if he gets a clear run at the line and can reproduce the kind of speed that took him past Mark Cavendish to win stage 2 of the Giro della Toscana in September, few would bet against Bennett taking a victory in Italy.
Similarly, in the spring Bennett has ridden Tirreno-Adriatico (2.UWT) in the past three years. It is a race normally more suited to climbers and with fewer opportunities for the fastmen than Paris-Nice.
Bennett took 3rd and 8th on stages at Tirreno–Adriatico last year and was 4th on a stage in 2014. But riding Paris-Nice may provide him with more opportunities to take a victory.
And the inclusion of the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in his schedule for the first time means will be take on another couple of races he has never ridden before that look perfectly suited to him.
We’ll catch up with Bennett shortly for a chat but the Cycling Tips interview is well worth a read. You will find it by following this link.
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