He has two stage wins already, but a mark of how hungry Sam Bennett is can be found in this very revealing clip. The pressure and ambition to win is difficult when success doesn't come.
Like Elia Viviani crying after missing a great chance to win Gent-Wevelgem in March, Sam Bennett was devastated at the end of stage 17 of the Giro yesterday.
Already the Carrick-on-Suir man has a couple of stage wins in the bag. But the desire - and pressure - to win more is huge.
And when many of these top pros get close but just fall short, that unfulfilled will to win can be overwhelming.
Yesterday Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) finished very fast. But Viviani (QuickStep) got out of the traps much sooner and took his fourth win.
Though Sam Bennett started the gallop well back, it was much closer on the line. And after the stage the sense of a big opportunity lost was written all over his face.
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'I just ran out of road' @Sammmy_Be is absolutely gutted after losing stage 17 to his points jersey @eliaviviani#Giro101 pic.twitter.com/xgL1vXcQ1M
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 23, 2018
Bennett's team had also put in a lot of work for him, to keep the race together and ensure a sprint.
That fact seemed to loom large on his mind. To make matters worse, QuickStep did very little; apart from the final lead-out for Viviani.
“I had a few slips, I just lost the nerve and I couldn’t get out,” Bennett told Eurosport at the finish.
“I had the legs again and I just couldn’t get out. I don’t know; it’s just timing, like.
"I was coming from behind and I just ran out of road... we put a lot into it."
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