Sam Bennett has put a tricky start to the season behind him to take the first win of the year and his first since returning to Bora-hansgrohe for a second stint. The 31-year-old Irish rider emerged best in the sprint to the line at the end of Eschborn-Frankfurt.
His victory today, at the end of 185km into Frankfurt-am-Main, was the second one-day WorldTour race win of his career after he claimed Oxyclean Classic Brugge-De Panne last year while riding for Deceuninck-QuickStep.
The biggest challenge today in the sprint looked like it was going to come from Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, with Biniam Girmay leading out his team mate Alexander Kristoff.
However, with Girmay just back into racing after a trip home to Eritrea, after his Gent-Wevelgem win, his lead-out effort was very poor, with Bennett and his team mate Danny van Poppel just behind him.
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When Girmay's turn on the front deep into the last 500m came to little, Van Poppel moved out and began his sprint, with Bennett in his wheel. The speed of the Bora-hansgrohe duo was way ahead of the others in the sprint and it was immediately clear it was all over.
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After Van Poppel had put his effort in, Bennett came passed him, pulling the trigger and taking a comfortable win. Both Fernando Gaviria - the UAE Team Emirates rider on his own in the sprint - and Kristoff gained a little on Bennett before the line, but only after the Irishman knew he had it won.
Bennett came over the line with his two arms in the air, with Gaviria in 2nd place and Kristoff 3rd. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) claimed 4th and Van Poppel hung on for 5th place.
Bennett's win today will come as a big relief as he has taken some time to regain top form this year after an injury-hit 2021, when he missed half of the campaign due to a knee issue.
The Carrick-on-Suir man was also publicly undermined by his team manager of last year, Patrick Lefevere. It means today's win has added meaning as Bennett looks to reset his career, even though he had already won seven races last year by the time he sustained his injury in May.
More to come.
