Sam Bennett denied stage win but retains yellow in France | Video

Sam Bennett has retained the race lead at Région Pays de la Loire Tour but was denied a shot of a second stage win after a dramatic finish

Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) negotiated the climbs on stage 2 at Région Pays de la Loire Tour, and retained his race leader's jersey, but he was denied the chance of a second stage win after a dramatic finish.

The Irish rider, and compatriot Dillon Corkery (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), were both part of the much reduced bunch that went to the line hunting for victory, only to be denied late in the day. Bennett overcame a period of pressure in the final when he was on the back of bunch as the road kicked up.

But the Carrick-on-Suir man managed to hang in and recover, ultimately having to be content with 4th place on the stage, to add to his stage 1 victory, after 158.5km of racing into Beaupréau-en-Mauges on a day when fortune very much favoured the brave.

Advertisement

After the early breakaway had been swept up, Victor Guernalec (Arkéa–B&B Hotels) attacked solo with about 13km to go, on undulating roads, and opened a gap of about 10-15 seconds, immediately looking like he meant business.

Sakarias Koller Løland (Uno-X Mobility) and Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis) soon went after him, catching the lone leader and making for a determined trio up front. However, while the outcome of the stage hung in the balance, it looked like the bunch would catch the leaders as they had just 30 seconds with 8km to go.

But after a hard day in the saddle, and with the bunch trimmed right back in numbers, neither Bennett's team nor any of the other bigger squads had the strength in depth to hit the front and snuff out the breakaway's efforts.

Related News

Though the peloton gained on the leaders all the way to the line, they just about hung on; Guernalec's finishing surge proving too much for the others and the Frenchman taking a deserved win from Koller Løland.

The front of the bunch caught the breakaway on the line, with one of the three escapees - Maisonobe - being swallowed up and fading to 15th. The 20-year-old British rider, Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost), came through strongly to win the bunch sprint for 3rd, with Bennett 4th on the same time as the winner.

Corkery, who was 3rd on the opening stage, was in the bunch today but was well back and placed 33rd. Bennett retains his race lead ahead of today's stage 3, which is 166km in to Hambers. The finishing circuit will be contested five times, with a small climb each lap, including at the finish.

Bennett holds the yellow jersey but is now on the same time as stage 2 winner, Guernalec, with stage 2 runner-up, 23-year-old Norwegian Koller Løland, is 3rd overall at four seconds. Corkery is 7th overall at six seconds.

Related News