If the Tour de France is the epicentre of the cycling season, Sam Bennett has been thrust out to the periphery, sitting on the sidelines of a race he expected to excel in.
The Carrick-on-Suir rider was left reeling in the past fortnight when his Bora-hansgrohe team decided not to take him to the Tour.
The decision blindsided the sprinter, who won two stages plus the green jersey the last time he rode the event in 2020. Since then he was sidelined by injury in 2021 and then, last year, Bora-hansgrohe left him out of its eight-rider line-up. Bennett had had a relatively quiet season to that point and the team decided to fully back a general classification campaign instead.
This time around, though, Bennett fully expected to be there. That’s why the news stunned him. “First I was shocked, then I was upset, and now a week later I am still processing it,” he said. “I just don’t know what direction to take now.”
Bennett had worked hard this year to be in the necessary condition in July and while he had just one win so far this season, is convinced he would have been on track.
“For sure, I would have been in top shape. The green jersey was something that I really wanted to go for. I really think that I could have competed for that. I have the experience. I know what’s involved. And of course, I know how to win at that level,” he said. “I’ve done it before. Everything was on target.
“Last year, I still believe I would have got something out of the race. Because I’m the kind of rider that gets better as the race goes on. But I understood [the team’s decision] last year. I didn’t fight it.
“I knew where they were coming from. I always try to put myself in other people’s position, even though I felt I should have gone last year and could have got something out of it. But this year, I should be there. I deserve my place. It’s hard. It’s a tough one.”
Bennett underlined his value last season when he went to the Vuelta a España and won two stages in the opening three days. He also held the race’s green jersey for several days. Further success was likely in the race but he caught Covid-19 and had to withdraw.
He bounced back with a superb end of season ride in the Paris-Tours race and while this year was hampered by a hamstring injury in December, plus illness and a crash in March, he felt his form was going in exactly the right direction.
Asked if he felt he would be the same form as when he dominated the sprints in 2020, he had little doubt.
“I think it would be very close,” he said. “Definitely, with regards the engine [physical fitness]. It was different in 2020, because I was going for stages first of all, and then the green jersey started coming my way. So I probably would have gone in straight away going for green, and then looking for stages too. The approach would have been different, but I think I would have been pretty similar.”
Bennett wishes his team well, including the rider who will replace him in the Tour as its sprinter, the young Belgian Jordi Meeus. But with Meeus expressing surprise at his own selection over Bennett, the Irishman is unmistakably hurt by the team’s decision.
He’s determined to turn things around, suggesting the World Championships and, if selected, the Vuelta a España could be targets.
The next move is Bora-hansgrohe’s, but he’s conscious that he may end up moving to another team for 2024 and beyond.
“I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve still so much I want to accomplish in the sport. I’m not ready to just ride around for a few years,” he said. “I want to do the work. I want to win these races. And I’m so ambitious still. I need a place where I have opportunity and where I can go for those wins. Working that out is going to be the tricky thing now.”
