He's been missing from Sam Bennett's corner for over a year. But now he's back and they are teaming up better than ever; three WorldTour wins in three days at the Tour of Turkey. Above, Shane Archbold pushes Sam Bennett home into Utah Beach last year on the Tour.
Shane Archbold is finally back with Sam Bennett
When Shane Archbold stayed with Sam Bennett after his horror crash on the opening stage of the Tour de France last year, the bond between the pair was clear.
They’d soldiered together at An Post-Chainreaction of course. Bennett then won his stage at the Tour of Britain in 2013 and secured a place with NetApp-Endura.
After showing the ProContinental team he could win races in 2014, he was able to bring in Archbold for the 2015 season.
Since then the team has morphed in Bora-Argon 18 and then Bora-hansgrohe, moving to WorldTour level this year.
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Archbold and Bennett have been team mates in the squad since 2015. But Archbold has been missing for a long time.
Indeed, he is back at Sam Bennett’s side at the Tour of Turkey this week after an absence of a staggering 15 months.
After Bennett crashed into Utah Beach on that opening stage of the 2016 Tour, Archbold helped him every day.
But then the Kiwi had a massive fall of his own later in the race. He mangled himself on stage 17; tearing his flesh and breaking his pelvis.
However, Archbold is the quintessential hardman Kiwi. And so he remounted and finished the stage.
Top, Sam Bennett winning the last stage in the Rás into Skerries in 2013 with Archbold in 3rd place. Above, celebrating after teaming up to deliver Bennett to WorldTour win and leader's jersey on Tuesday at the Tour of Turkey. Bennett has won the opening three stages, with Shane Archbold back by his side after a long time away.
That smash forced him out of the race and he didn’t start the next day. He took some time to recover but the injury wasn’t finished with him.
And though he returned to racing towards the back end of last season, he wasn’t involved at the front of the bunch with Bennett.
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Close to the end of the year he woke up one morning unable to walk. An MRI scan revealed a disc extrusion in his back, or a prolapsed as it’s known. It was a hangover from his Tour crash.
He began treatment and he believed he was progressing well. But it then emerged the extrusion was sitting on a nerve which was causing leg pain.
Archbold endured several stints in New Zealand, Girona and also received treatment in Germany. He finally had the extrusion removed during surgery.
Shane Archbold getting back to his feet after his horror crash at last year's Tour.
It wasn’t until June of this year – 11 months after his Tour crash - that he was even able to ride for two days in a row.
In June he spoke to RoadCycling.co.nz and was asked how long it would be before he was race fit.
“Well, it’s been 11 months since I raced seriously,” he said. “And my biggest ride this year has been 4½ hours. In the last six weeks I have ridden twice; that being the last two days.
“So keeping that in mind I have no idea. The last time I took more than four weeks off all exercise was when I first began to crawl as a toddler.
“So how the body is affected after six months; time will tell. I have to learn to crawl again before I can sprint.”
To his immense credit he’s learned to crawl, and some, pretty quick.
Archbold has been instrumental in Turkey this week where Bennett leads the race after winning the opening three stages.
Archbold comes from the track and he took silver in the omnium at the Worlds in 2011. Then at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 he won gold in the scratch race and bronze in the team pursuit.
This Tour of Turkey may be the first time in 15 months he has been back in the lead-out for Bennett.
But he’s showing no signs of being rusty or nervous. His seated power – the way he stays in the saddle and winds it up for Bennett – is extraordinary.
But he’s also a forceful rider who can take charge. And he’s constantly been on the race radio organising the team on the road.
Sam Bennett and Shane Archbold won three stages between them in the Rás of 2013; combining brilliantly in the sprints there.
And now the two An Post old boys are ripping it up together four years later in the WorldTour, despite being derailed by that nightmare Tour for both last year. Unfortunately Archbold is on the move for next year.
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