Sam Bennett will get a very good indication of where his form is at in his opening race of the season as he will face one of his biggest rivals, Fabio Jakobsen, and one of the best lead-out men in the business, Michael Mørkøv.
Irish rider Bennett recaptured his old form towards the end of last year, with two stage wins at La Vuelta before having to leave the race around the halfway point due to Covid-19. While the virus took more out of him that he bargained for, Bennett put in a great ride in Paris-Tours Elite, where an aggressive ride saw him eventually finish 3rd.
The Bora-hansgrohe rider will want to hit the ground running, right from the off, this year and take at least one stage victory at Vuelta a San Juan Internacional (2.Pro), which begins on January 22nd in Argentina.
Advertisement
This year the race features no TT and just one finish for the climbers, meaning the seven-stage race should be a feast of opportunities for sprinters. There are four likely sprint finishes in the offing.
Related News
And with Jakobsen arguably the most impressive sprinter of recent years, scalping the Dutch rider early this year would be a major boost for Bennett. Even though he has beaten Jakobsen many times in his career, a victory in Argentina would confirm Bennett has returned to his best.
Jakobsen and Mørkøv are part of a very strong Soudal-QuickStep line-up, already in Argentina for the race. It also includes world champion Remco Evenepoel, who won the race in 2020 when it was last held.
“It’s our first time in Argentina in three years and we are happy to be back in this beautiful country. Remco won the last time we were here, and he now returns as World Champion, ready to kick off a season that we all hope will deliver many great moments," said Soudal QuickStep sports director Davide Bramati.
"San Juan will be a nice test also for Fabio, who has a good lead-out and will look to show his speed and pick up a victory on one of the many flat days of the race. Without an individual time trial, Alto Colorado will be decisive for the general classification, so we’ll see how things go on that stage and what we can do there."
