Sam Bennett showed that he’s back to his best today by outsprinting Mark Cavendish and Daniele Bennati to win the second and final stage of the Giro della Toscana.

The “Lanterne Rouge” of the Tour de France proved fastest at the end of the stage between Montecatini Terme and Pontedera showed a hilly parcours, which included one of the famous climbs of the area – the Monte Serra.

But like yesterday Sam Bennett again was in good shape and had never any problems, climbing well in the bunch. On the tough finishing circuit, the BORA – ARGON 18 leader always was well placed in the peloton, with some steep climbs causing problems for other sprinters.

After a 7-men break was reeled in in the final, the sprinter teams like Dimension Data and BORA – ARGON 18 set a hard pace in the peloton to prevent riders from attacking. This plan worked out perfectly and everything was set for a bunch sprint on the last 3 kilometres.

In the end, Bennett took a confident win by half a wheel from Mark Cavendish. After getting over a tough time since the Tour, Sam can now look confident into the next races leading to the Worlds in Dohar, which will take place on his birthday.

“When I made it well placed over the last climb, that really motivated me,” said Bennett. “I think Mark struggled more there. The guys did a brilliant job then and a was perfectly placed on the last kilometre. Bardiani started the lead-out, I was on Mark’s wheel around the final corner and I think a carried more speed into the home straight then. To be on the top of the podium again is great for me, but it is also great for the whole team.”

“I am so happy today,” said Directeur Sportif André Schulze. “Sam had really a though time with a lot of crashes. But he did grit his teeth and did fight to Paris. He always said that this experience will give him something one day. Now this attitude pays off.”

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