Sam Bennett's triumph | "It makes me believe I can win at World Tour again"

Sam Bennett is back in a race leader's jersey after taking his third win of the season, with the Irish sprinter saying his latest triumph has really boosted his confidence (Photo: MVaning-LCN)

Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is back in a race leader's jersey again today, this time in France, after winning the opening stage at Région Pays de la Loire Tour (2.1).

He claimed victory in a bunch sprint into La Baule-Escoublac, collecting his third win of the season and his second leader's jersey in a season when he also came close to taking his first World Tour win in over two years, when he was 2nd on the final stage at Tirreno-Adriatico last month.

And that growing list of results is clearly working wonders for the Irishman's confidence, saying he now believes he can win races at the highest level again; great news as he works his way towards the Giro d'Italia where he will be looking to add to his 10 career Grand Tour stage wins.

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"I'm super happy," he said after his win on yesterday's opening stage, of 208km, in France, where he topped the podium from Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti VisitMalta) and fellow Irishman Dillon Corkery (St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93), who is having a terrific 2025.

"My teammates did an amazing job on a pretty difficult final circuit," added Bennett. "Everyone was awesome, and I'm particularly impressed by the youngsters who rode like experienced pros. That also put pressure on me, because I had to finish the job.

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"I have a fantastic opportunity to ride for this team, and I want to give something back. A victory like this makes me believe I can win at World Tour level again."

Though the four-stage race in France is a UCI 2.1-ranked event, and therefore a couple of tiers below World Tour racing, Bennett looked very fresh on his way to victory and was aided very strongly by his team.

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale was notably present in numbers in the final as the 60-man reduced peloton hurtled in towards the finish.

Bennett's final lead-out man, Norwegian 23-year-old Tord Gudmestad, who rode for Uno-X Mobility for the last three seasons, did an especially good job in bringing Bennett very close to the line, making it as easy as possible for the Irish rider.

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