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The Sam Bennett Discussion Thread

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He is one of the best sprinters in the world, at the moment.
Leaving Bora makes total sense when there is a Ackermann coming, I guess a post-Cavendish Dimenson Data could be a good fit, he could ride either classics+Tour or Giro+Tour
 
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IndianCyclist said:
Why not send both Bennett and Ackermann to the Giro and let the road decide. Or use team orders to allow both of them opportunities depending on the form/injuries etc. The giro is a long race after all and they would make a great leadout for each other

You might as well lock two horny cockerels in a box together. There would be rage filled squawking and blood and feathers everywhere. They are two of the best sprinters in the world and therefore cannot be expected to coexist in a race squad unless one is just getting some race days in as training.

Bora actually tried putting them in the same squad last year once and they smashed into each other, nearly caused a major crash and did put each other out of the sprint. It was a bad idea and they won’t do it again.
 
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yaco said:
Bennett would be crazy to stay at Bora - Bora had every chance to develop Bennett as a classics rider in 2019, especially seeing he has the characteristics to be decent in this type of racing.
He’s a very specific type of classic rider, though. (Munsterland Giro, Paris-Bourges, races that end in bunch sprints) He’s never competed much on the cobbles, and he’s never made the split over the Poggio at MSR. The old Paris-Tours would have suited him down to the ground, but Bora chose not to go, for some reason. You can absolutely understand why Bora went with Sagan for most of the classics season.
 
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Leinster said:
yaco said:
Bennett would be crazy to stay at Bora - Bora had every chance to develop Bennett as a classics rider in 2019, especially seeing he has the characteristics to be decent in this type of racing.
He’s a very specific type of classic rider, though. (Munsterland Giro, Paris-Bourges, races that end in bunch sprints) He’s never competed much on the cobbles, and he’s never made the split over the Poggio at MSR. The old Paris-Tours would have suited him down to the ground, but Bora chose not to go, for some reason. You can absolutely understand why Bora went with Sagan for most of the classics season.

Of course you go with Sagan but the team could have tried to develop Bennett as a classics rider - Could have ridden De Panne, Sheldepris, Gent Werelgam, Nokere classic etc
 
I understand why he feels disrespected, last year he rode a great Giro. Ackermann has never finished a gt and gets selected to ride the Giro over him, sending Ackermann to the Vuelta would be the better option.
Besides DD and Bahrain there are also a few other teams that could need a top sprinter, AG2R or EF for example. Katusha will probably also try to find a proper top sprinter to replace Kittel, but I guess that Viviani is also an option for them, if he isn't resigning with DQ.
A team like Cofidis would also be interesting for him, even if they don't go WT, they get wildcards for a ton of races that would be interesting for Sam.
 
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happytramp said:
So, seeing as Ackermann didn't sustain any fractures during his crash the other day I assume he's still on track to ride the Giro? That being the case, does anyone know what's next on Sam's calander?
He won Rund um Koln 2 years ago in June, so that might be part of it. Presumably his next big target is the Vuelta, unless there’s any particularly sprinter-friendly week long stage races in the offing. Yorkshire, maybe? I think he’s done Romandie in the past too.
 
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Leinster said:
Presumably his next big target is the Vuelta, unless there’s any particularly sprinter-friendly week long stage races in the offing. Yorkshire, maybe? I think he’s done Romandie in the past too.
rides Critérium du Dauphiné in June
 
Romandie
Hammer Stavanger (....)
Likely Rund um Köln
Dauphiné
(Slovenia?, Irish Nationals?, Österreichrundfahrt? I'd say none of these are likely but it might change in regard of the circumstances and then be added to Bennett's calendar)
London
BinckBank or Czech Tour
Vuelta

It should look like that ;)
 
Re:

happytramp said:
Just confirmed on eurosport that his next stage race will be brinkbank tour. That's about 2 months away.
Which other stage race can he do in the meantime? On the WT level there is only France and Poland, other 2.HC races in Europe include only Slovenia (which starts very shortly after CdD) and Wallonie (not sure if BORA starts). So it is not so surprising he will not do any stage race in between. He will at least do RideLondon.
 
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IndianCyclist said:
I hope he is leaving Bora after this year. Hate to see him become Landa of the sprinters

Yeah, must suck being in a good environment thats nurtured your talent for years and keep winning races.

Landa is also a very bad comparison to Bennett. It is not like he has been leading out Sagan or Ackermann. The team has been riding for him in every race he has raced.

He will still be their sprinter for Vuelta?

Sometimes leaving for money and added pressure as the top sprinter on a new team is not such a good idea. Unless the money is what you are after.

And maybe he just happy there, but if he changes team all the best to him. Probably have a higher salary but I doubt he will win as many races.
 
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Anderis said:
IndianCyclist said:
I hope he is leaving Bora after this year. Hate to see him become Landa of the sprinters
Hasn't he extended beyond 2019? Cyclingfever states so.
http://www.cyclingfever.com/transfers.html

I believe that stems from something Patrick Lefevere told journalists when he was asked if he was going to sign Bennett. It doesn’t fit with Bennett’s words today.
 
Re: Re:

PeterB said:
happytramp said:
Just confirmed on eurosport that his next stage race will be brinkbank tour. That's about 2 months away.
Which other stage race can he do in the meantime? On the WT level there is only France and Poland, other 2.HC races in Europe include only Slovenia (which starts very shortly after CdD) and Wallonie (not sure if BORA starts). So it is not so surprising he will not do any stage race in between. He will at least do RideLondon.

I was just pointing out that he now has a 2 month hole in his calander and curious about what he's going to do in the mean time.
 
Re: Re:

Salvarani said:
IndianCyclist said:
I hope he is leaving Bora after this year. Hate to see him become Landa of the sprinters

Yeah, must suck being in a good environment thats nurtured your talent for years and keep winning races.

Landa is also a very bad comparison to Bennett. It is not like he has been leading out Sagan or Ackermann. The team has been riding for him in every race he has raced.

He will still be their sprinter for Vuelta?

Sometimes leaving for money and added pressure as the top sprinter on a new team is not such a good idea. Unless the money is what you are after.

And maybe he just happy there, but if he changes team all the best to him. Probably have a higher salary but I doubt he will win as many races.

Some of his fans tend to be much more negative about his team situation than he has ever been. He’s been a consummate professional about his pecking order grievances - he said he didn’t agree with their Giro decision but the decision had been made, then he shut up and kept winning. He seems well aware that the team has been good for his development, just as his development has been very good for the team. I suspect that he would accept a slightly lower salary than is available elsewhere to stay.

But what he seems very unlikely to accept is being third choice in terms of big race calendar. He’s 28. Two seasons ago he hit double figure wins for the first time and started winning WT races. Last season he won three Giro stages. This year he is on seven wins in early June, all but one in the WT. He can be quite certain that he’s one of the three or four best sprinters in the world and given the confidence most fast men share he’s probably convinced that he’s the number one. This is his time. If he wants success at the very highest level, higher even than currently, he needs the calendar of an undisputed leader.

He might step up again, he might not. But it’s hard to believe that any sprinter can be greedy enough to win as much as he does without having the greed and ambition to try to win Tour stages, more Giro stages and whatever else he wants.
 
What ZL said. If he moves, it’ll be because someone has offered him a role as their primary sprinter for the Grand Tour of his choice. He’s been completely diplomatic about not getting to ride the Tour since Sagan signed, or the Giro this year, but it’s perfectly reasonable that he would want a bigger role.

Now, it may backfire, and he could end up winning less with a new outfit. But if he stays in his Bora comfort zone and carries on winning stages and in 1-week races and semi-classics in March and April and August and September while somebody else gets to ride in May and July, there’s always going to be that “what if?”
 
Re:

Leinster said:
What ZL said. If he moves, it’ll be because someone has offered him a role as their primary sprinter for the Grand Tour of his choice. He’s been completely diplomatic about not getting to ride the Tour since Sagan signed, or the Giro this year, but it’s perfectly reasonable that he would want a bigger role.

Now, it may backfire, and he could end up winning less with a new outfit. But if he stays in his Bora comfort zone and carries on winning stages and in 1-week races and semi-classics in March and April and August and September while somebody else gets to ride in May and July, there’s always going to be that “what if?”
If Bennett is smart he'll insist on Shane Archbold following him. Bennett is twice the sprinter when he comes off his wheel.
 

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