Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale Team) has returned to the Tour de France today, after a four-year absence, and immediately threw himself into the points competition.
Though a large breakaway got clear early and took the first eight places at the first intermediate sprint point, the sprinters who remained in the peloton also battled each for the minor points. And Bennett was in the thick of it.
Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) took the maximum 20 points on offer at the Santa Sofia sprint with 86.6km to the finish. And back in the bunch, where the riders were sprinting for 9th place in the sprint, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was 9th, taking 7 points.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was next, then Ireland's Bennett, followed by Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).
While scoring five points at an intermediate sprint on the Tour is obviously nothing to write home about for Bennett - who has won the green jersey competition - his decision to contest the sprint was perhaps more significant.
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It is the first indication, at the first time of asking, that Bennett is counting himself in the battle for the green jersey at this early point. And it also suggests he is determined to get stuck into this race from the off, rather than taking a conservative 'wait and see' approach.
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And that looks like some good news for Bennett - and Irish cycling fans. He has, of course, hit some better form recently, with four stage wins and the overall victory at Four Days of Dunkirk. Hopefully Bennett's participation in that sprint - though we won't get too carried away - is a sign he's mentally and physically ready for the three weeks ahead.
Santa Sofia Sprint, 86.6km from finish
1. Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies), 20
2. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), 17
3. Ryan Gibbons (Lidl-Trek), 15
4. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), 13
5. Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), 11
6. Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), 10
7. Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), 9
8. Frank Van den Broek (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), 8
9. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 7
10. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), 6
11. Sam Bennett (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), 5
12. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), 4
13. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), 3
14. Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), 2
15. Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), 1
