O’Loughlin: more to come from Bennett

SAM BENNETT washed his stage winner’s blue jersey yesterday morning to show it off at last night’s club league race in Carrick-on-Suir and his coach, Martin O’Loughlin, insisted Saturday’s victory in the FBD Insurance Rás stage into Clara was the first of many.

The 18-year-old Dan Morrissey rider surprised some when he was up in so many of the sprint finishes and astonished many more when he beat the likes of former Tour de France leader and multi stage winner Jaan Kirsipuu to win the penultimate stage.

But O’Loughlin, who was team manager for the Athens Olympics in 2004 and will be going for three-in-a-row in the vets race at the national championships in a month’s time, was not surprised.