Sam Bennett starts UAE Tour tomorrow with one of the best lead-outs in cycling at present and with one win already under his belt after last month's Vuelta a San Juan Internacional, where he claimed the opening stage and wore the race leader's jersey for three stages.
While there were some top sprinters in the field in Argentina - Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team), Sam Welsford (Team DSM) - the challenge in the week ahead will be of a different order.
It is no exaggeration to stay the sprinters' line-up set to do battle in UAE is one of the best we are likely to see all season. Bennett has beaten most of them before, of course, and done so over and over again. However, the week ahead will be a big test as established sprinters and the up and comers meet.
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The Bora-hansgrohe Irishman will have Ryan Mullen, Shane Archbold and Danny van Poppel as his main lead-out personnel and all four can combine to beat anyone on their day, especially as Bennett is now, not only injury-free, but fully back to form quite some time after his knee issues.
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Any of the sprinters who want to win next week will need to be at, or close to, their best given the line-up assembled for what should be four sprint stages, starting with tomorrow's 151km opener from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa.
Among the sprinters Bennett will face are: Arnaud Démare (Groupama FDJ), Olav Kooij (Jumbo Visma), Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team), Sam Welsford (Team DSM), Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious).
Granted, missing are Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny), and they are three of the very biggest names at present. But the group of sprinters assembled should result in some incredible battles for victory.
Bennett has three career stage wins at UAE Tour - two in 2021 and one in 2019 - and he definitely looks like he is in the kind of form to add to that tally. However, the new names - Welsford, Kooij and Thijssen - and emerging quickly while riders like Groenewegen, Ewan, Gaviria, Bauhaus and Merlier all have wins already this season.
After tomorrow's stage, which looks like a certainty for a bunch sprint, there is a team TT on Tuesday followed by a hilly stage on Wednesday. Then comes three more sprint stages before the finale next Sunday on the Jebel Hafeet climb.
