Sam Bennett has brought success to NetApp-Endura this year and is looking for more this week in Britain, from where he will write for stickybottle daily.
By Sam Bennett
Saturday, September 6th, Team Presentation: Liverpool.
I flew into Manchester from Brussels Charleroi yesterday to ride the Tour of Britain. Because our NetApp Endura team bus didn’t arrive until this morning, myself and teammates Leo Koenig and Jan Barta stayed overnight in Manchester before arriving in Liverpool around 11am.
As lunch was only an hour and a half away by the time we got settled in, the guys decided they’d go training at 2pm but I wanted to get my training over with so that I could relax in the evening and hopped on the turbo trainer before lunch.
In a fancier set up than my cardboard box sun shelter at the Sean Kelly house in Belgium, I set up the turbo trainer beside the mechanics’ truck and pulled the canopy out to ward off the damp Liverpool drizzle.
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I like to use the turbo the day before a race for a couple of reasons.
One is that you never really know where you are and it can take a while to find a good road to do some efforts on and another reason is that, like today, half the time it’s raining.
Bennett has ridden some huge races this year, seen here preparing for Paris-Roubaix on the famed cobbles.
As usual, I warmed up at about 200 watts for about 15 minutes before doing my harder efforts.
My first effort involved riding for 10 minutes at 300 watts, then three minutes at 350 watts, two minutes at 400watts and I ended with a minute at about 480-500 watts, making sure I had five minutes easy in between each effort.
Some guys like to do a longer, lower intensity spin on the day before a race but I prefer to go harder for a shorter period of time and find I feel better after a session like this.
After resting in the afternoon, we had the team presentation in Chavasse Park this evening at around 5.30pm which was pretty cool, if a little bit intimidating.
Another thing I like about the race it that there’s always a great atmosphere at the Tour of Britain.
The first time I ever rode the race, a couple of years ago, we did a 200km stage and for the whole day there was one long line of people either side of the road. I’d never seen anything like it in my life.
Winning the final stage of Bayern Rundfahrt in Germany, his third of four wins to date this season.
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Last year the last stage was incredible. The banging on the barriers around London was deafening and if this evening in Liverpool is anything to go by it will be more of the same this year.
The whole team rode up through a barriered-off street, through the massive crowds, to the rear of the podium before entering the marquee and stepping out onto the stage.
It can be a bit intimidating to step out in front of such a huge crowd, especially if you’re the one who’s going to be asked a few questions, so I made sure I wasn’t on the edge of the line-up and left our Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Scott Thwaites to do the talking.
My last man in the lead out train, Zak Dempster, isn’t here because he’s still fatigued from his Tour de France debut in July.
But we’ve a really strong team here anyway; with Leo Konig, Jan Barta, Paul Voss, Daniel Schorn and Scott Thwaites and we will be aiming to do something on the overall and try to win a stage.
Where it all got serious; winning stage 5 of the Tour of Britain last year. The race has since be upgraded by the UCI but still featured some of the best riders in the world last year.
The Tour of Britain is where it all kicked off for me and I got my first pro contract from winning a stage here last year.
The race means a lot to me and coming back here this year there’s a bit of expectation from the team and from myself so hopefully I can please everyone and get a result.
I have to admit that when I saw quadruple stage winner at the Tour de France this year, Marcel Kittel, was riding, my heart sunk a little bit.
I know I’ll have my work cut out to beat him and Mark Cavendish in the sprints but I have to stay confident and I’d love a stage win here.
Tomorrow's opening stage is on a circuit and at 104km long, it's going to be a bit like the Belgian kermmesses I've been riding lately but as I haven't ridden a proper race since my crash at the Tour of Norway, it may take me a couple of days to get going .
Although the hotel we’re sharing with Belkin, An Post Chain Reaction and Giant Shimano is really nice, there’s a wedding on tonight so I’m hoping it’s not going to be too loud.
- Sam Bennett's Tour of Britain Diary will appear every day on stickybottle until next Sunday, when the race finishes in London.
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