Sam Bennett comes across the finish line in Cherbourg today on his own with the broom wagon his behind, a clear sign of how hard he got today's 183-kilometre stage. Voiture Balai is the French for Broom Wagon, the vehicle deployed to sweep up those at the back of the race. He showed great character to fight as hard as he did.
Having been hit hard by a crash already on this Tour de France, Sam Bennett had to battle all the way to the finish of stage 2 today just to stay in the game.
He was 16 minutes and 23 seconds down when he crossed the line in Cherbourg after being dropped by the peloton a few times only to get back in and lose contact for good with 40km remaining.
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The photo above shows him crossing the finish line with the broom wagon just behind, while the shots below show him battling the final climb to the finish line that couldn't come quick enough.
Even his friend and chaperone Shane Archbold came in a few minutes ahead of Bennett, perhaps worried he would miss the time cut.
Their Bora-Argon 18 teammate Cesare Benedetti was also one of the last home, though he had been in the break for most of the day.
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Michael Morkov (Katusha) was also one of the backmarkers – he was among those to fall in that horrific high-speed crash yesterday; crashing first when he clipped the crowd control barriers and bringing others with him.
We can only hope Bennett gets a good night’s sleep and he can find the energy to come through tomorrow’s 223-kilometre stage.
The glove on Bennett's right hand is keeping the bandages and stitching tight and dry as possible after his crash on yesterday's opening stage.
Bennett looks determined on his way to the finish line; last man home but having put in a really strong ride considering his injuries.
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