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Sean Kelly has said if Sam Bennett was being offered a much bigger salary by rival teams than the money being offered by Deceuninck-Quickstep, it was understandable he would consider leaving the Belgian outfit.
However, he believed Bennett would also be considering
the fact that other big name sprinters who had done so well with Deceuninck-Quickstep
had not performed to the same level after leaving the team.
“We know with Patrick Lefevere, he doesn’t pay these big
salaries. The Belgians, and Patrick Lefevere more so, are known… he’s never
paid big money.,” Kelly said.
He was speaking after Lefevere said at the Giro on Sunday that Irish sprinter Bennett was leaving the team at the end of this year, when his current two-year contract expires.
“If you look back at the sprinters (Lefevere) has had; he takes them on, they’re very successful and then they move on because they get much bigger offers,” Kelly said on the Bradley Wiggins Show podcast.
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“So, reading between the lines, I think Sam, he has much
better offers elsewhere. And Patrick Lefevere doesn’t seem to be able to match
it, or be prepared to pay that amount. But it’s amazing that we’re talking
about it already, so early (in the season).”
He believed Lefevere, who also said yesterday João Almeida was leaving the team, spoke out in the way he did in order to “get one up” on others involved in the contract talks, including other managers, by announcing such big news before anyone else had the chance.
Kelly added while the transfer season did not officially open until August 1st, talks were always going on in the background.
“The negotiations are going on well before the Tour de France (in July), we just don’t hear about them. But this is certainly big news with Sam Bennett because the way he’s riding this year, and last year his performances…
"It’s a major (transfer) and it’ll be interesting to see if he goes back to Bora, if that is the case. I’m not sure where he’s going to go," Kelly said in reference to reports Bennett was going back to his former team Bora-hansgrohe.
"But I’m sure there’s a number of teams very interested in Sam’s services because he’s proven, and again this year, that he’s the fastest in the world and he’s become consistent.”
Excluding an outgoing rider from major races, including
the Tour de France, is something that professional cycling teams have often done
in the past. However, Kelly said even if Bennett was leaving Deceuninck-Quickstep
he believed he would be picked for this year’s Tour.
“I cannot see that happening,” Kelly said about the prospect of Bennett now being dropped from the Tour team. “If he’s leaving the team, as we are being led to believe at this moment, I think he’s definitely going to take Sam (to the Tour) and get the value out of him."
Kelly added the team may look to the general classification
at the Tour next year with Julian Alaphilippe or Remco Evenepoel, depending on
how the young Belgian performed at the Giro now underway.
On the prospect that Peter Sagan, who is leaving
Bora-hansgrohe, would go to Deceuninck-Quickstep as Bennett was leaving, Kelly
said there was a relationship between Sagan and bike manufacturer Specialized
which would influence the three-time world champion’s next move.
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“There’s an ongoing personal contract there so it would suit; you could see why he might go to QuickStep,” he said.
When Lefevere made comments about Sam Bennett’s apparent departure from his team he made the point that pro bike riders had to make as much money as possible and because of that, riders leaving teams was a constant factor in cycling.
“But look at the sprinters who left us,” Lefevere said. “Some
riders return to our team on foot.”
That comment was quoted in some media outlets as Lefevere saying riders had come “crawling” or "walking" back to the team after previously leaving.
Lefevere appeared to be making the point that when some riders who were successful in his team left it, they did not have the same success and at times wanted to come back into his team, a point Kelly picked up on.
“It’s going to be a concerning one for Sam Bennett because he’s definitely going to be looking… in the past, when you look at Viviani, when you look at Gaviria; the way those guys were performing (for Deceuninck-Quickstep). And when they moved on they didn’t produce the performances they were able to do with Deceuninck-Quickstep.
“So I assume Sam is looking at that also. I think Sam would definitely love to stay with Deceuninck-Quickstep because he has really fitted in there well and he’s happy there.
"But it’s the financial situation and if the difference is major between what he’s being offered (from other teams) and what he can get with Deceuninck-Quickstep then you can understand why there can be a reason he may be moving on.”
We’ll have an interview with Kelly later about the way he sees the general classification battle at the Giro panning out.
Bradley Wiggins on Sam Bennett
Bradley Wiggins also discussed Bennett’s apparently imminent departure from his current team saying the Irishman was “the fastest man in the world at the moment”.
He added that as the winner of the Tour green jersey last year, it seemed “strange” the team would not seek to “cover all the bases” and retain Bennett, as well as Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe and other big names that have already extended with the team.
“I mean, Sam is a superstar of the sport; to come out
now, the second stage of the Giro, and already say that he’s going to be leaving
at the end of the season… it must be a finance thing,” Wiggins said.
“But he looked like he’d found his home for the first time in while, Sam, and was happy; particularly with Cav there this year... Cav and him at the Tour, you can only imagine the role Cav could play for Sam at the Tour.”
Wiggins believed the next phase for Deceuninck-Quickstep could be a tilt at the Tour's general classification next year with Julian Alaphilippe. But he felt for this year Bennett should once again get the team’s backing for the green jersey.
Wiggins also believed Peter Sagan may go to Deceuninck-Quickstep next year, saying it would really help him to race within the team's atmosphere as it could help him get back to his former level in races.
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