Following on from his great performance in the recent Bayern Rundfahrt, where he won two stages, in addition to wearing the yellow jersey, Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) returns to action this weekend.
He will line up in the UCI 2.1 World Ports Classic. The two-stage race consists of an opening stage of 195 kilometres from Rotterdam to Antwerp, with the riders retuning to Rotterdam the following day on a 164-km route. The first stage will see the riders take a coastal route through Zeeland to Rotterdam. The exposed roads could see the race blowing apart, which may suit Classics specialists rather than sprinters. The second stage is a more direct route back to Antwerp, and may represent the better opportunity for a bunch sprint.
Last year’s race saw stage wins for Andre Greipel and Ramon Sinkeldam. Theo Bos and Sinkeldam finished the race overall on the same time, but Bos was declared the winner due his better finishing positions. Neither Bos nor Greipel return to the race this year.
Amongst other riders who could challenge for stage wins are Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), Andrea Guardini (Astana Pro Team) who had a stage win in the recent Tour de Picardie, and Gerald Ciolek and Matthew Goss of the MTN-Qhubeka team.
Another interesting name on the start list is Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin). The German has really struggled this season, following on from the previous few years where he had emerged as arguably the fastest sprinter in the World, so it will be interesting to see if he is starting to regain his form.
At last week’s Bayern Rundfahrt, Bennett won the opening stage of the race from Regensburg to Waldsassen, beating Bouhanni and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin). He also won the third stage from Selb to Ebern, once again beating Bouhanni and Ramunas Navardauskas (Cannondale-Garmin). In addition, he also had third and fourth place finishes in the race. The young Irishman will be hopeful of adding to his haul of victories this season, as his build-up to his debut in the Tour de France continues.
