With some of pro cycling's sprinters doing very well at Milan-Sanremo, this frustrating crash cost Sam Bennett a shot of getting into the mix in the final.
Having made it to the penultimate climb of the Cipressa in last year’s Milan-Sanremo, Sam Bennett went into yesterday’s race hoping for more.
But the Irish sprinter, riding for Bora-Argon 18, was the victim of a pile-up near the front of the reduced peloton that also claimed one of the pre-race favourites Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge).
Paris Nice winner, and outside bet for yesterday, Geraint Thomas of Team Sky also came down hard in the same crash.
It occurred on the inside of the front of the bunch with about 30km remaining, just before the Cipressa climb.
The worst of the impact occurred against a wall to the riders’ right, with a cluster of about 10 men coming down.
Bennett rode into that group who fell hardest and came down himself.
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He then became tangled in the pile of riders and took a few seconds to free himself.
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But as he quickly set about getting underway as fast as possible to keep his hopes alive he realised he had a mechanical, with his chain, and was forced to dismount again.
With the help of a team mate he sorted himself out and finally pushed off.
But with the racing going forward well inside the last hour of the near seven-hour marathon, he told stickybottle that getting back into contention was simply not possible.
“I got caught up in that same crash as Matthews,” he confirmed, adding getting back into the action in a monument when held up for so long is easier said than done.
”It’s disappointing, but the legs were not too great either,” he added in an honest appraisal.
“I got great support from the team today. I wished I could have done better.”
Sam Bennett Milan-Sanremo crash
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