Think pro cycling is glamorous? Check out this photo of Irish star Sam Bennett

 

Here's two photos - both of rising Irish sprinter Sam Bennett - that tell very different stories about the life of being a professional cyclist.

Above, Bennett has his arm raised in triumph having won a stage in the Bayern Rundfahrt professional stage race in Germany back in June.

The Carrick man, now aged 23 years, competed as an amateur in Ireland before progressing to the third division An Post team based in Belgium.

On the back of some very good results last year, he got a two-year contract with NetApp-Endura; a second tier team in a sport with three divisions.

In his current position he is now in the paid ranks. And having already taken a number of wins in major races this year, he looks set for a bright future.

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His talent as a sprinter makes him a very valuable rider for professional teams and if he continues in the form that he has shown, he should be in the top tier - WorldTour - the season after next, where the financial rewards can be very significant.

We usually only get a glimpse of the glamorous side of the sport; the teams and riders competing in major races. But it takes years of sacrifice, hard work and usually disappointments to get to where Bennett is now.

And once there, the hard work never stops. Indeed, it simply intensifies.

Below is a shot that offers us a glimpse into that side of the sport where riders must grind out the power and condition and will hopefully carry them over the line in first place.

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It's a shot of Bennett suffering on a home trainer, doing interval training at set rates of power output, to build the speed and explosiveness that he needs to make his living.

The shot was taken outside a house in Belgium where the An Post-Chainreaction riders are based and which Bennett still uses.

It brings home the monotony of what these riders go through day after day for their trade; unseen by those who follow their exploits on race day.

Bennett is out in the sunshine putting the power down, having fashioned a cardboard box to get cover from the sun as he works away.

It's years of these sessions in Bennett's legs that have made him the rider he is, and yet it is only this year that he has secured properly paid employment.

Beside him is Jack Wilson, a younger Irish rider with the An Post-Chainreaction team. He is hoping to follow his former team mate's route into the paid ranks and has been enjoying a great run of form lately.