Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) dealt with his non-selection for the Tour de France by going to Sibiu Cycling Tour (2.1) in Romania earlier this month and winning both of the sprint stages before completing his effort with 2nd in the TT.
The Irishman, and lead-out engine Ryan Mullen, are now set to make a return to top tier action in a team with a full lead-out train and plenty of top sprint names top go up against.
They start Tour de Pologne tomorrow, where Bennett should have three chances to take a sprint victory. As well as Mullen, the Carrick-on-Suir fastman also has Shane Archbold to perform the last part of his lead-out on stages 1, 4 and 7. Bora-hansgrohe also has a strong general classification challenge, with Lennard Kämna and Sergio Higuita both in the squad.
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Bennett's first chance comes on the opening stage tomorrow, a pan flat 183.7km, starting and finishing in Poznań. Bennett said after his successes in Romania that his form and confidence were returning, and a tough first half to the season, and he will hope to keep that momentum going in Poland over the next week.
While many of the very best sprinters in the world will not be on the start line, there is still plenty of fast riders in the field for Bennett to test himself against, and hopefully beat. They include: Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious), Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) and Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates), among others.
Bennett now looks certain to move on from Bora-hansgrohe after returning to the team, for a second tint, on a two-year deal that expires at year end. He has not secured Tour de France selection for the last two years, with the team opting for Jordi Meeus instead this year, with the Belgian rider winning the final stage into Paris.
The Irish rider will now be looking to make his case for selection of La Vuelta and would hope to finish that event to set himself up for a reset in form next season, most likely with a new team. Taking even one stage win in Poland would confirm his return to winning ways after his confidence-boosting showing in Romania, albeit against weaker opposition.
