Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) was happy to get his season back on track with victory at the second stage of the Giro della Toscana as he works to find an end-of-season peak in his form for the World Championships in Doha.
Contrary to most sprinters, but like fellow Carrick-on-Suir resident Sean Kelly, Bennett is quietly spoken and rarely lets out any anger when he wins or loses a sprint. Today he was quietly proud to have gone shoulder-to-shoulder with Mark Cavendish and happy to have the power and speed to take his scalp.
Bennett quickly apologised to the Cavendish after the sprint even though he had not really affected the Manxman's finish, but he also showed a sense of satisfaction on the podium and during the post-race press conference.
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"I was a little lucky today. On a normal day I wouldn't beat Cavendish, so I'm really happy to have won," he said modestly. "It's been a hard season for me due to some crashes and bad luck. I had to go deep to finish the Tour de France and have been recovering since then. But now I feel I'm coming around. Winning is a nice boost."
Bennett will lead the Irish team at the World Championships in the road race in Qatar on October 16 – the day of his 26th birthday. Ireland has only qualified three places in the elite men's road race, but Bennett will be the protected sprinter.
During his winner's press conference, it was pointed out that Stephen Roche won his world title in 1987 with just a handful of teammates against the major nations that had 12 riders. It brought a smile to his face, but he knows the race in Doha will be a real sprinters' World Championships, with the likes of Cavendish, Sagan, Kittel, Kristoff, Greipel, Nizzolo and Viviani all fighting for the rainbow jersey.
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