Teams & Riders George Bennett Discussion Thread

[tobydawq]

Wasn't really Kruijswijk's best domestique in the Alps where it mattered most last year. Should probably get top 10 in the Giro.

If he really has gotten his side stitch issue sorted, he could do much more than just a top 10.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Wasn't really Kruijswijk's best domestique in the Alps where it mattered most last year. Should probably get top 10 in the Giro.

Bennett crashed hard during the Galibier stage. Twice. Not sure what people expect from a guy that hits the deck as hard as he did.

You could also say that Jumbo were at least one mountain dom short. De Plus had to do all the work when Bennett wasn't fit enough to pull.

(Kruijswijk wasn't that great to begin with . He was lucky that most of the Galibier was soft pedalled, IMO, as he was not among the very best riders there. )

 

[Red Rick]

Bennett crashed hard during the Galibier stage. Twice. Not sure what people expect from a guy that hits the deck as hard as he did.

You could also say that Jumbo were at least one mountain dom short. De Plus had to do all the work when Bennett wasn't fit enough to pull.

(Kruijswijk wasn't that great to begin with . He was lucky that most of the Galibier was soft pedalled, IMO, as he was not among the very best riders there. )

Whoops forgot about those crashes.

Fully agree on Kruijswijk. He's not GT winner material.

 

[tobydawq]

Whoops forgot about those crashes.

Fully agree on Kruijswijk. He's not GT winner material.

No, a guy who can lead the Giro with three minutes to number two, two days before the end of the race and only loses due to a crash clearly has no chance of winning Grand Tours.

 

[yaco]

Jumbo had enough mountain support at the TDF - Two quality domestics is better than four average domestic's.

 

[42x16ss]

Beaten by Bond in the NZ TT and Archbold in the sprint at the NZ RR on a course that didn't really suit.

Shame really, because it would be phenomenal to see an NZ champs jersey at the pointy end of a GT.

On the bright side, his monstrous efforts at last years TDF have gotten him Giro leadership instead of another year of domestique duties.

If his rib issues really are solved I think Bennett can go top 5.

 

[BlueRoads]

Does anybody know his plans for the rest of the season and if he's fine again?

 

[search]

Does anybody know his plans for the rest of the season and if he's fine again?

not quite, by the sound of it. "George has struggled all week to recover from the Tour with his injuries and illness and when the French put the power on up the climb with two laps to go, he could not go with it.” He is scheduled to do the Vuelta though

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[BlueRoads]

not quite, by the sound of it. "George has struggled all week to recover from the Tour with his injuries and illness and when the French put the power on up the climb with two laps to go, he could not go with it.” He is scheduled to do the Vuelta though

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Thank you!

 

[johnymax]

Nice job becoming National Champion! I find it surprising to hear it's his first victory at the Nationals. I thought he'd won there before. He was also second in the ITT.

Does anybody know if the plan for him is still to be the GC leader at the Giro (after Dumoulin break from cycling)? I hope he still gets his chance. It happened a couple of times now, that he was the designated GC leader for a GT at the beginning of the season and then he ended being a domestique in another GT.

At the same time, if he doesn't deliver let's say a top 5, I think it should be his last chance to be the sole GC leader for a GT. At least in a team as strong as Jumbo Visma is right now (although the Dumoulin departure complicates things). They should enter every GT with a goal to win it or at least podium. They have Roglič, Kruijswijk and Kuss higher in pecking order right now, with the young guys (Oomen, Foss and Vingegaard) also waiting for their chances.

I sincerely hope he rides the Giro as a GC leader and seizes the opportunity like he did last year in Il Lombardia taking 2nd place.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

What is this guy doing at the giro, in 2018 and 2020 he looks like a killer on the bike but now he is flailing around like a confused neo pro. Disastrous performance here for sure diminishes his value with no contract for 2022. Very strange.

 

[BlueRoads]

Cold?
(I mean his tt was already worse than expected after his team-mates outdid themselves... but I think the weather might play a decent role with such a skinny guy?)

 

[Mayomaniac]

What is this guy doing at the giro, in 2018 and 2020 he looks like a killer on the bike but now he is flailing around like a confused neo pro. Disastrous performance here for sure diminishes his value with no contract for 2022. Very strange.

Maybe he has some health problems? He didn't race at all after that Catalunya DNS.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Cold?
(I mean his tt was already worse than expected after his team-mates outdid themselves... but I think the weather might play a decent role with such a skinny guy?)

Why go to Giro if the cold bothers you and you are not Italian? Go to vuelta or something.

Maybe he has some health problems? He didn't race at all after that Catalunya DNS.

He said not racing was a deliberate decision to train in controlled environment and avoid crashes/illness in romandie.

Like George but this is a big turning point in his career now, he won't have so much value.

 

[sir fly]

The weather's obviously a significant factor in his performance. Not sure if slightly more body fat would help.
We'll see if the latter stages can inspire him.

 

[bajbar]

This is Jumbos C team when it comes to climbing. And today he was only the third best climber in the team. While Foss has raised his game (especially today), Bennet is just dropping off... he was in such amazing shape in August last year and even though he crashed in the Tour on the first stge, he still did his job well. But this season... and it seems to be very simmilar with Kruijswijk. Another big hitter who is nowhere near his best ths year. The only two in the team who have kept last years form are Roglič and Van Aert (and even Wout seemed to be a percent or two off in some classics). And some youngsters have stepped up.

 

[42x16ss]

Why go to Giro if the cold bothers you and you are not Italian? Go to vuelta or something.


He said not racing was a deliberate decision to train in controlled environment and avoid crashes/illness in romandie.

Like George but this is a big turning point in his career now, he won't have so much value.

Bennett pretty much has to take the Giro or nothing, because Roglic and Kruiswijk are ahead of him in the pecking order for both the Tour and the Vuelta.

Hopefully Bennett lines up some big raids for KOM points, because as we all know he can do some big damage when he's on.

 

[yaco]

Posted earlier that Bennett lacks the constitution to fight for GC in a three week tour - It is what it is!

 

[42x16ss]

Posted earlier that Bennett lacks the constitution to fight for GC in a three week tour - It is what it is!

So he fluked his previous top 10s in the Giro and Vuelta?

I do think another 2-3 kgs would help him in cold races like this Giro though.

 

[Red Rick]

Bennett is a good rider, but he's not really good enough to fight for top 3, nor is he stable enough to hit the bottom half of the top 10 every Giro/Vuelta. Because of that, I don't think he shoudl be a GT leader for a team like Jumbo at all. That's not a knock on Bennett. I think it's more valuable for him to win a stage once or twice in his career than get 2 more top 10s.

If he gets to do the Vuelta, I don't think he should be forced to ride for Kruijswijk tho. Kruijwijk isn't worth bringing a solely dedicated train for either.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Kuss is leader at La Vuelta too but I doubt they will be all in for him either. Unless Dumoulin goes for GC, Bennett should be free I think.

 

[42x16ss]

Bennett is a good rider, but he's not really good enough to fight for top 3, nor is he stable enough to hit the bottom half of the top 10 every Giro/Vuelta. Because of that, I don't think he shoudl be a GT leader for a team like Jumbo at all. That's not a knock on Bennett. I think it's more valuable for him to win a stage once or twice in his career than get 2 more top 10s.

If he gets to do the Vuelta, I don't think he should be forced to ride for Kruijswijk tho. Kruijwijk isn't worth bringing a solely dedicated train for either.

Agreed, just look at the 2019 Tour. Kruiswijk only made the podium because Bennett (and a lesser extent de Plus) was easily the best mountain domestique in the race, he was an absolute beast.

 

[Red Rick]

Agreed, just look at the 2019 Tour. Kruiswijk only made the podium because Bennett (and a lesser extent de Plus) was easily the best mountain domestique in the race, he was an absolute beast.

And because of the TTT, and because Froome, Dumoulin and Roglic weren't there, and because Pinot melted down spontaneously

 

[johnymax]

Bennett is a good rider, but he's not really good enough to fight for top 3, nor is he stable enough to hit the bottom half of the top 10 every Giro/Vuelta. Because of that, I don't think he shoudl be a GT leader for a team like Jumbo at all. That's not a knock on Bennett. I think it's more valuable for him to win a stage once or twice in his career than get 2 more top 10s.

If he gets to do the Vuelta, I don't think he should be forced to ride for Kruijswijk tho. Kruijwijk isn't worth bringing a solely dedicated train for either.

I'm happy Bennett got his chance in this Giro. He was promised last year's Giro leadership and then had to change his calendar because the team needed him to. But I agree with you. He is not good enough to do a top5 in a GT and a potential 9th or 11th place isn't worth enough for a team like Jumbo.

But it has to be said, the Bennett we've seen this Giro so far is far from the best Bennett. He should be able to climb with the 10 best climbers normally, but now he is being dropped by 25 or more riders. Something is wrong. Let's see if he can bounce back in the second half of the Giro. Maybe he should forget going for GC in the future and try his luck in hilly one day races. Look how strong he was in Lombardia last year.

 

[JosefK]

I'm happy Bennett got his chance in this Giro. He was promised last year's Giro leadership and then had to change his calendar because the team needed him to. But I agree with you. He is not good enough to do a top5 in a GT and a potential 9th or 11th place isn't worth enough for a team like Jumbo.

But it has to be said, the Bennett we've seen this Giro so far is far from the best Bennett. He should be able to climb with the 10 best climbers normally, but now he is being dropped by 25 or more riders. Something is wrong. Let's see if he can bounce back in the second half of the Giro. Maybe he should forget going for GC in the future and try his luck in hilly one day races. Look how strong he was in Lombardia last year.

Yes, I think something is definitely wrong with Bennett in this year's Giro. He normally would be much better than this. Maybe he got sick at the wrong time? He's been a great mountain dom for Jumbo in recent years. I hope he comes around in week 2 or 3 . . . maybe able to contend for a stage.