Sam Bennett has said he was somewhat disappointed with his final sprint on stage 2 of Vuelta a San Juan Internacional last night, Irish time, adding the final gallop to the line into Jáchal was lightening quick.
The Irishman, who won Sunday's stage 1, retains the race leader's jersey going into stage 3 today. He is on the same time as Fabio Jakobsen, who won yesterday's stage 2 just 24 hours after losing out in the chaotic finish on the opening day of racing.
“I’m a bit disappointed to be honest, especially because the boys worked really hard for me again," Bennett said after looking poised to win stage 2 but eventually being forced to settle for 4th place.
"It was a high speed bunch sprint, I was riding 55x11 and was still looking for another gear," Bennett explained. "I probably mistimed my sprint slightly but I felt right in the moment. It’s easy to analyse afterwards, but hard to do the exact right thing in the heat of the action.“
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Bennett's Bora-hansgrohe team left it late yesterday. Ryan Mullen pulled them to the front deep into the last kilometre, before Danny van Poppel dropped Bennett off right at the front with about 200m to go, with the Carrick-on-Suir man looking good for a second win in two days.
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However, while Bennett kicked off Van Poppel's wheel with about 150m to go, Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) also made his move and was fastest. Bennet tied up a little in the closing metres and was passed by Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Jon Aberasturi (Trek-Segafredo), who were 2nd and 3rd respectively.
As both Bennett and Jakobsen have each won a stage, and taken 10-second time bonuses for those wins, they are equal on time. However, Bennett retains the race lead as his stage placings are better; 1st and 4th compared to Jakobsen's 48th on stage 1 - when he lost his way - and his victory yesterday.
Bennett's sports director in Argentina, Bernie Eisel, said the team had worked impressively to control the early breakaway yesterday, though a second stage win eluded them.
“A tough day for the guys, that started with a long transfer in the morning before the longest stage of the race. With temperatures ranging 38 and 42°C it was extremely hot and challenging again for the riders," Eisel said.
"The guys, and especially Florian Lipowitz, worked a lot to stay in position and out of any kind of trouble. While a second win would have been nice, we're happy with the stage and another day in the leader’s jersey.“
