A year after making his debut at Pro Continental level, Sam Bennett (Bora Argon 18) is confident that he can go even better than last season. We spoke to him during his recent team training camp in Mallorca, and asked how he has gotten on over the winter.
“The winter has gone well. I’ve lost some weight since last year, and although I put on a little over Christmas, it could be muscle. My power is also up on last year.”
The Carrick on Suir man explains the importance of weight to him, as he says, “I have to get to the finish fresher, the fresher I am, the better chance I have of winning.”
In Mallorca, the team have been practicing their lead outs for their sprinter. “We’ve tried different scenarios, where you might not always have all your team mates available at the finish, or in the position they should be in. It’s been really good.” Two of the main guys that will be part of the train are Shane Archbold and Zak Dempster. “They’re two guys I’ve worked well with before, Zak last year, and Shane when we were at An Post.”
A big change for Bennett recently is that he has moved to Monaco. He seems to be enjoying it so far. “There are lots of other pros to go training with here. I was out with Michael Matthews, Adam Blythe and Simon Gerrans the other day and it’s good to have other guys around. You need company when you’re training. With world class riders, the training can be better and you can also learn from them by talking. I also went for a ride the other day with a friend, stopped for coffee and on the way home, met Philippe Gilbert who asked if he could join up with us on the way back.”
Last season was very successful for Bennett, as he took victory in the UCI 1.1 races Clasica de Almeria and Rund um Köln, a stage of the UCI 2.HC Bayern Rundfahrt as well as a kermesse in Lede in Belgium. He had hoped to win even more, but the second half of the season was a struggle due to illness.
As to what he learned last season, Bennett says, “I learned how to get dropped in stage races. The team have their GC man, and by hanging on longer than I need to, I’m wasting energy.”
“In Oman last year, I got dropped on one stage and on the last climb, I still had 3 kilometres to climb and other riders were coming down from the finish. I know that I have to keep fresh for the next day. I have one job”, he continues, “to win races. I gained a lot of confidence last year, and I want to win more this year.”
He gets his season underway tomorrow (Thursday) at the Trofeo Santanyi which is part of the Challenge Ciclista Mallorca. The only other event in Mallorca, which he will take part in is the Trofeo Playa de Palma. It’s an indication of his intent to win, that he will only take part in the two flatter Mallorcan races, and avoid the two hillier races.
After that, he travels to the Middle East to race in the Tours of Qatar and Oman, where he hopes to go even better than last year, when he took a podium place in Oman. He also outlines that he hopes to take part in some classics, but which ones has not been confirmed yet.
As regards making his debut in the Tour de France which the team was selected for recently, he’s not sure at the moment. The team had a top ten finisher in last year’s Tour with Leopold König finishing in 7th place. The Czech rider has since moved on to Team Sky, but the team have signed Dominik Nerz to aim for GC.
Bennett says, “It depends on what the team’s goals are. This year, they have Dominik so I’m not sure. I would love to go.”
